Frustrations around Newcastle’s water crisis are intensifying, with residents continuing to face constant water outages due to the local reservoirs failing to fill up. As a result, the Newcastle Municipality was compelled to close the valves to the reservoirs again on Tuesday evening, 10 December 2024, from 5 pm until 3 am on Wednesday morning, 11 December 2024.
The pressing question now is: what is happening with Newcastle’s water supply?
In addressing this critical issue, Newcastle Municipality’s Councillor Zwe Nxumalo of ActionSA commented, “The truth of the matter is, we are hoping to get answers on this question from the Municipal Manager during an emergency council meeting to be held on Friday (13 December 2024).”
Cllr Nxumalo noted that the entire Newcastle community, from Newcastle West to Newcastle East, was experiencing severe water supply challenges. The upcoming council meeting was, therefore, deemed essential to enable the Newcastle Municipality to provide factual feedback to the community on the root cause of the crisis.
“Water is a basic human right, and residents cannot be expected to endure water interruptions during a heatwave. Moreover, as we now enter the festive season, tourists will be visiting the town. A lack of water supply would not only cast Newcastle in a negative light but would also impact the local economy during this busy period when many people pass through Newcastle,” he emphasised.
He further explained that urgent steps would need to be taken, with the Newcastle Municipality prioritising water supply to residents.
In the meantime, Cllr Nxumalo added, “Residents are currently fighting with their ward councillors, but as soon as we have more information on Friday, we and the Newcastle Municipality will be able to provide feedback on what is happening.”
Adding to this, Newcastle Municipality’s Councillor Samukelisiwe Yende of the ANC revealed that councillors were recently informed that the town’s water levels were low. She explained that to address this, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) had been requested to send additional water from the Zaaihoek Dam to help supplement the supply.
Acknowledging that Newcastle was grappling with a water crisis caused by a combination of a lack of rainfall and an intense heatwave, Cllr Yende also highlighted the impact of illegal water connections, which were exacerbating water losses. “We will need alternative methods of supplying water to the Newcastle community, such as constructing man-made dams to help alleviate the current challenges the Municipality is facing,” stated Cllr Yende.
While municipal councillors and Newcastle residents await feedback from the Newcastle Municipality, the water crisis continues to disrupt daily life and poses a serious threat to the community’s food security.
Furthermore, local farmer Bertus Pretorius revealed that he lost 100 hectares of maize in the past week alone. “Looking at the current levels of our dam, if it doesn’t rain soon, we are going to be in trouble as a drought is expected to impact the country next year,” he said.
Hendrik Jacobs, another local farmer specialising in soya and maize, expressed similar concerns. He explained that while there was still enough water available for local irrigation farmers, the situation was becoming increasingly dire. “In my opinion, the dam (Ntshingwayo Dam) is below 60%. But if it is 63%, residents and farmers can manage through the summer with that water, even with a drought in place. However, if we do not receive rainfall and additional water soon, we will face immense trouble by January 2025.”
Jacobs further noted that the current crisis had already resulted in a 20% yield loss in his maize and soya crops, with food security now being compromised. “If the current water situation continues, I will experience a 10% loss weekly from next week. However, if we can resolve this water situation soon, we could still save our crops,” Jacobs added.
Reflecting on the broader context, Newcastillian News reported that the Newcastle Municipality attributed the crisis primarily to the ongoing heatwave, a claim corroborated by Councillor Bebsie Cronje.
Burst pipes were also cited as a contributing factor. The Municipality further stated that it had requested assistance from the DWS to release additional water into the Buffalo River to help fill local reservoirs.
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Seeking clarity on the situation, Newcastillian News approached the DWS to understand what steps were being taken to resolve the issue. DWS Spokesperson Mavasa Wisane explained that it is important to remember that the Newcastle Local Municipality is the Water Services Authority for the area and is responsible for the provision of water services, as mandated by the Constitution and the Municipal Systems Act. She highlighted that the Newcastle Municipality is supplied with bulk water by uThukela Water (Pty) Ltd, and the DWS is not involved in the treatment or distribution of water. Therefore, they do not have contingency plans for treated water supply.
However, she elaborated, “From a water resource perspective, which the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is responsible for, the Ngagane and Buffalo water sub-system, where Newcastle Municipality is located, is currently in balance, i.e. the available raw water is sufficient to meet the demands in the area.
Interventions that are being considered to address future water requirements include the implementation of water conservation and water demand management initiatives (such as addressing non-revenue water and using water sparingly) and in the longer term, the construction of the proposed Buffalo Dam with an expected yield of 64 million cubic metres per annum (m3/a).”
Reflecting on the current situation in Newcastle, with the heatwave being blamed for the matter, Wisane did not deny the impact the weather conditions were currently having on the local community. However, while the Newcastle Municipality is to provide feedback on Friday, 13 December 2024, Wisane stressed her department had already started taking steps to address the matter, especially due to the impact that the water shortages were having on Newcastle residents and local farmers.
She said, “The DWS is engaging with impacted stakeholders, including uThukela Water and farmers along the Buffalo River. Controlled releases are being made from Zaaihoek Dam and Ntshingwayo Dam to support both domestic water supply and irrigation needs. These measures are being implemented in line with the operating rules governing each dam to ensure sustainable water resource management.”
Additionally, Wisane explained that the DWS would continue to monitor the levels in the dams to ensure that there was adequate raw water for supply to all users, including uThukela Water which supplies the municipality.
“The DWS, through its support function is engaging with the municipality to implement water conversation and demand management plan including fixing leaks to reduce high-water losses, ensure correct billing, and encourage residents to use water sparingly, and where necessary implement water restrictions to ensure all residents have equitable share of available water in the system,” added Wisane.
While remarks have been made by municipal officials that the growth in Newcastle’s population has also contributed to the current water crisis, Wisane explained, “From a water resource perspective, the DWS undertakes water reconciliation strategy studies to determine the growing water demands and develops strategies to meet water demands. The reconciliation study shows that there is sufficient raw water to meet the current demands in the area. The strategy identifies the development of the Buffalo Dam as an intervention required in the longer term.”
Wisane further pointed out, that according to the municipality, uThukela Water is currently preparing an application for Regional Bulk Infrastructure funding from the DWS to upgrade the Ngagane Water Treatment works to meet the growing water demands.
Additionally, when looking at the current challenges with Newcastle’s Water and Sanitation infrastructure, Wisane explained that the Newcastle Municipality is getting its potable water from the Ngagane WTW which has a design capacity of 130 ML/d.
“In the past few years, the plant has been operating beyond its design capacity mainly due to the increased water demand and high-water losses in the system. This is further exacerbated by the uncontrolled peri-urban development. Most of its bulk infrastructure is old and has reached its service life and is failing to cope with the increasing demand. As a medium to long term solution the Newcastle LM prepared a business plan dated June 2024 which is ready for the application for the Department’s Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) funding (R1 550 410 845). This intervention will result in the upgrading of the bulk infrastructure for the Ngagane water supply system from the raw water abstraction, conveyance bulk pipelines, Ngaganne WTW and reservoirs. According to the Newcastle LM, it is currently implementing an asbestos cement pipeline replacement project and refurbishment of raw water pipeline project to address the water losses in the system,” explained Wisane further.

Despite the current challenges, Wisane assured that the DWS would continue to play a supportive and regulatory role. “In addition, both DWS and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs have been assessing/ monitoring service delivery for all the KZN water services authorities with the aim of identifying service delivery challenges and required interventions,” she emphasised.
Considering all the above, with the Newcastle Municipality set to provide feedback after the council meeting on Friday, 13 December 2024, what are your thoughts on the matter?
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