Durban - eThekwini Municipality urgently needs a new and reliable water supply source or residents will face a steep increase in water prices that will see their water bill double in the next 10 years.
Head of Water and Sanitation in eThekwini, Ednick Msweli, said the city was implementing many measures to ensure a reliable supply of water that could stave off any steep increase in water prices in the future.
The state of the city’s water security is a concern at a time when other cities such as Johannesburg and Gqeberha have also been dealing with serious water challenges in recent months.
In an interview with The Mercury, Msweli said the city either needed to have a new dam in place by 2030 or would have to implement a desalination programme that would result in a steep water price increase.
The key long-term plan to secure water for the future, said Msweli, is building the Upper Umkhomazi Dam which is projected to cost R24 billion and is expected to be commissioned in 2030. The Upper Umkhomazi Dam is a national project.
“Durban has had a water deficit for years. If this dam does not come online on time, the city might have to go the desalination route, which is very expensive.
“Based on the price that we pay to Umgeni Water for potable water currently, R10 a kilolitre (not including other costs), the price of water in Durban will double with desalination,” he said.
Msweli said in the interim, the city was taking steps to prevent a water crisis. He said the priority was to reduce the amount of water that was lost as a result of ageing infrastructure.
The city loses about 54% of the water it buys from Umgeni Water largely as a result of leaks and other infrastructure challenges.
He said there were other projects that the city was undertaking to stabilise supply in the short term and these included treating and re-using wastewater.
There is a pilot project that the city has undertaken with experts from Japan to combine wastewater and sea water to produce potable water, called a water remix.
He said the project had proven to be a success and there were considerations to expand the pilot project.
Msweli urged the community to be mindful that water was a scarce resource and availability was limited.
“We buy about 1 100 megalitres from Umgeni Water and they have told us that for the next five years, that is all the supply that they can give us.”
Deputy mayor Philani Mavundla described the water situation as dire, adding that the city could find itself having to water shed in the next 10 years.
“The non-revenue water (lost through leaks and other forms) is standing at 54%.
“The loss is around R1.4 billion in value. We have to build this dam, there are no two ways about it, or we could have a situation like we are having with Eskom, (where) we will have to water shed to cope with the demand.”
While about 85% of the water would be to service the eThekwini community, the building of the dam is a partnership programme that would involve the district municipalities of Ugu, uMgungundlovu and Ilembe, as well as the national government, among other stakeholders.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said the focus should be on protecting the current water supply.
“We lose a large portion of water that does not go to any community or generate any revenue because our infrastructure is aged and is leaking. The figure of this non-revenue water has grown dramatically,” he said, adding that the city should have sophisticated water-management systems in place to protect infrastructure.
DA councillor Thabani Mthethwa said there was concern about the sustainability of the water supply in the city.
“We should bring back on the agenda the feasibility study we were supposed to commission, that of trying to treat sea water to see if it can be safe for human consumption.
“Secondly, we need to start seriously looking at rain water harvesting. It’s high time we make plans to harvest rain water as part of our water security plan, among others,” said Mthethwa.