Loadshedding has devastated the South African economy with water supply also coming under threat thanks to the continued mismanagement of Eskom.
In September 2022, the Northern KwaZulu-Natal towns, Ngagane and Durnacol found themselves without water for six days, due to the ongoing loadshedding. This is but one of many examples.
At the time, the Amajuba District Municipality explained that it was facing water production challenges at its plants. “The power outages cause water supply disruptions to many areas around the district,” said the District Municipality’s Communications Unit.
Due to the impact, it had on Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal’s neighbouring communities the municipality explained it was making steady progress in acquiring the necessary industrial generators to ensure that the water supply is returned as swiftly as possible.
To read more, click here.
Now four months later, how far has the Amajuba District Municipality progressed with installing these generators?
“Amajuba District Municipality has procured two generators to date, to mitigate against the negative impact of loadshedding on our water supply, these generators were installed and commissioned in October 2022, for both the Ntshingwayo Dam Raw Water pump station and Durnacol Water Treatment Works, these generators assist in ensuring that the water supply cycle is uninterrupted.”
However, what is the District Municipality doing to ensure loadshedding does not cause further water disruptions?
“We are currently identifying other sites that are vulnerable to the impact of loadshedding, especially in eMadlangeni (Utrecht) Local Municipality, and we will be budgeting for more generators for those sites in the near future. This will include installing a backup generator at Amajuba District Municipality Building offices, as our customer call centre (Water Services) is dysfunctional during loadshedding.”
What about the maintenance of the said pump houses?
The Communications Unit explained, “Amajuba District Municipality has a team of artisans that conduct maintenance on all our pump stations, and report all breakdowns, theft and vandalism that they find during those assessments. There is also a need to upgrade the security of our pump stations, as they are very vulnerable during loadshedding.”
What are your thoughts on all of this? Share your views in the comment section below.
