Another waiting game for Tongaat residents

TONGAAT residents have been left none the wiser on when water would come out of their taps as the ethekwini Municipality sends out mixed signals.

Residents have been without tap water for more than 30 days and have relied on water tankers and non-governmental organisations for their supply. There was a glimmer of hope that tap water would be restored by tomorrow.

Steven Naidoo from the Tongaat Ratepayers Association said this was confirmed by Deputy Mayor Philani Mavundla at a meeting with residents this week.

Naidoo said: “We have been talking about redirecting water through Mamba Ridge for days but nothing was done. The deputy mayor said money has been allocated to start rebuilding Tongaat and getting water from our taps was doable.”

He said the plan was to have water coming out of taps for about four hours a day.

Mavundla, who held a meeting with the residents on Tuesday, said water would be restored by tomorrow. He had tasked the ward councillor, Dolly Munien, with assessing the situation over a seven-day period and providing feedback.

Mavundla said: “Tongaat will have running water for four hours, which means there will be water shedding in other areas in order to be able to supply Tongaat for a few hours. We have increased the number of water tankers at Tongaat from five to seven per ward, together with water donated by NGOS and Operation Chariot, run by the army.”

However, Msawakhe Mayisela, the spokesperson for the municipality, said it was not possible for water to be restored so soon. Mayisela said it would take up to four months for that to happen.

“The Tongaat water treatment works was severely flooded. The damage was extensive, including no access to the plant as the access road was washed away. That is the primary source of potable water to eight reservoirs that supply water to areas in the north. For this reason, water is unable to flow into these reservoirs, and as such water supply from the taps has not yet been restored,” said Mayisela.

He said the municipality had partnered with Tongaat Hulett to reinstate the access road to the plant.