Some residents in eThekwini Municipality ae grappling with water issues, including Phoenix and Ntuzuma.
Image: Independent Newspapers Archives
AS DURBAN residents once again face water outage frustration in various parts of the city, there seems to be no hope of a resolution on the horizon.
For the communities of Phoenix and Ntuzuma, the situation has reached a critical point, with many residents enduring days without water, they've reached boiling point and are threatening protest action, similar to previous shutdowns, if the problem does not abate.
“We have been without water for two consecutive days,” said Stanley Moodley, a Phoenix resident .
“We are frustrated. We’ve been calling the municipality for help, but all we get are reference numbers. We want water, no reference numbers.”
Moodley warned that unless urgent action was taken, residents might resort to shutting down roads and disrupting services, just as they did last year when severe outages crippled northern areas like Tongaat and Durban North.
“It seems protest is the only language the municipality understands.
“It’s freezing, and we can’t even make tea or have a wash. Some people can buy bottled water, but many of us can’t afford that luxury. We just want this mess fixed.”
In Ntuzuma, the situation was equally troubling.
Thabo Biyela, a father of three, said the crisis was disrupting daily life and affected their children's education.
“We haven’t had water for three days. This is not just an inconvenience, it’s a basic human rights issue. Some kids are missing school, and families are suffering. The city needs to start treating this like the emergency it is.”
Biyela acknowledged that residents were given notice of an interruption due to maintenance at the Ntuzuma 2 Pumpstation. However, he argued that communication and support was lacking. “Informing us the water supply will be off is not enough. Where are the tankers? Where is the alternative supply? You can’t just leave people to fend for themselves.”
The municipality stated that the ongoing work at the Ntuzuma 2 Pumpstation involved installing a new rising main manifold and modifying the suction piping, with the shutdown scheduled from 6am to 7pm on Wednesday, 21 May. Water was expected to be fully restored by Friday (May 23).
However, this explanation has done little to appease residents, many of whom believed the city’s leadership was failing them.
DA councillor Mxolisi Khubisa criticised the ANC-IFP-EFF governed municipality.
“This administration has not adequately addressed water distribution losses, which are now at a staggering 58.08% non-revenue water,” he said. “This means more than half of the city’s water is lost before reaching residents. It’s unacceptable.”
He further criticised the underinvestment in infrastructure and overreliance on temporary measures. “Water tankers are a short-term fix. They don’t serve everyone, especially the elderly and disabled. We need long-term solutions and proper budgeting for infrastructure upgrades.”
eThekwini’s water woes were not new. In past years, neighbourhoods like Verulam, Inanda, and uMlazi have experienced prolonged disruptions, often worsened by aging infrastructure, poor maintenance, and governance issues. Promises made during earlier crises appear to have delivered few lasting improvements.
With winter tightening its grip, and frustrations boiling over, residents were demanding not only water, but accountability, consistency, and a reliable plan to restore confidence in a system that has long run dry.
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