eThekwini Municipality to engage SAPS over possible water supply sabotage

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The eThekwini Municipality says it plans to engage law enforcement agencies to investigate the possibility of sabotage targeted at its water infrastructure.

This comes as technical teams continue to ascertain the cause of the reduced flow that has caused an interruption in the supply of water in Umhlanga, Durban North and surrounding areas.

eThekwini Municipality Spokesperson Gugu Sisilana says, “The element of sabotage was detected after technical teams discovered an air valve in a water pipeline that was tampered with and another valve that was vandalised.”

“No major water leaks or burst pipes supplying these areas have been detected by city officials. Will meet with our bulk water supplier, Umgeni [Water] and uThukela [Water] to implement alternative supply options.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, Joburg Water announced that it was monitoring problematic water systems closely.

The utility outlined a myriad of water woes that remain.

It says there are still some dry taps in the Illovo and Sandton areas but some residents in low-lying areas will still get water.

In other parts of Johannesburg, like southern Johannesburg which is sitting at 22% of water capacity, water levels may only normalise sometime next week.

Joburg Water says it relies on levels from the Bulk Supplier and in this regard, the Commando system that includes Brixton Tower and the Brixton reservoir is particularly vulnerable.

Dr. Gideon Groenewald, an independent geologist and geohydrologist, discusses the water situation with SABC’s Francis Herd: