Newcastillians in both Newcastle West and Newcastle East find themselves grappling with a lack of steady water access, raising urgent questions about what the Newcastle Municipality is doing to address this escalating problem.

The situation grows more alarming by the day, with many residents demanding accountability from the Municipality.
Newcastillian News submitted an official media enquiry to the Newcastle Municipality’s Communications Unit on 9 December 2024, pressing for answers about the root cause of the water supply issues, the steps being taken to resolve them, and why proactive measures were not implemented earlier—particularly given the rapid population growth in Newcastle West and Newcastle East. Despite being given a deadline of Wednesday, 11 December 2024, to respond, the Communications Unit has remained silent.
This silence persists even though Mthandeni Myende, manager of the Communications Unit, assured that the Municipality would host an emergency meeting on Friday, 13 December 2024, promising answers to follow. Yet, in the interim, the Municipality’s leadership failed to communicate effectively, leaving Ward Councillors to bear the brunt of residents’ fury. Councillors have been inundated with questions and, in some instances, subjected to verbal abuse from increasingly irate residents who feel abandoned and unheard.
Following the emergency meeting, a message was circulated on social media, outlining the meeting’s outcomes. However, this belated communication has done little to quell the rising tension among residents, who are demanding immediate and transparent action to resolve the crisis.
Furthermore, the situation remains fraught, with Newcastle’s residents and officials alike awaiting concrete steps to address the water crisis before frustrations reach a breaking point.
As confirmed by Newcastle Municipality’s Councillor Zwe Nxumalo, the gist of the information provided the following answers:
The main reason contributed to the water supply crisis is low water levels at uMzinyathi (Buffalo) River, which normally supplies 20-26ML of raw water to the treating plant out of the 150-170ML total supply of uThukela Water to the Amajuba District (this includes Newcastle, Utrecht and Dannhauser). The water shortage is also appararently attributed to the growing population and consistent high demand due to heat waves in the past few weeks.
These are two questions that Newcastillian News asked the Municipality about, yet the Municipality has remained silent on why they did not take steps to address the water infrastructure when they saw the population grow, nor why steps were not taken to establish contingency plans in times of water supply challenges due to heatwaves.
The municipality has been closing outlet valves of respective reservoirs should the level drop below safety. This saw councillors asking for swift and broader communications to inform the public and communities, which the municipality promised to improve on this. Apparently, uThukela Water was also lagging on the updates to the municipality.
Water rotation is on the planning card. Water tankers are proven too expensive and unsustainable so will be very few provided. Static tanks are being considered to be placed in strategic positions in Madadeni. There will be formal communication should water rotation be implemented.
Communities are encouraged to prepare water containers and use water sparingly. So, watering gardens and car wash should be reduced to the minimum. (But it seems that the Municipality won’t issue water restrictions on watering gardens and car wash as yet)
Repairs to Water leaking and burst pipes will be prioritised, this is despite the Newcastle Municipality assuring residents on multiple occasions throughout the year that they were indeed addressing this very issue.
Reflecting on this, Cllr Nxumalo stressed, “There were discussion on short-term and long-term solutions and these need to be establish as soon as possible by the Newcastle Municipality, as water provision should be available for everyone within Newcastle. At the moment, there are areas in Newcastle which have been without water for several days, and the reservoirs are just not filling up due to the heatwave.”
Additionally, he noted that one also had to consider the elderly, children, babies and the sick who were now struggling even more due to the lack of water.
As the holiday season officially begins, Cllr Nxumalo issued a stark warning: the ongoing water crisis will not only force residents to endure a sweltering, waterless Christmas but could also deal a significant blow to Newcastle’s tourism sector. “No one would want to come to a town where there was minimal water supply,” he emphasised, painting a grim picture of the potential consequences if the Municipality did not start taking steps to address the matter.
By Saturday evening, 14 December 2024, social media erupted with outrage as residents shared videos of massive water leaks across Newcastle. From Signal Hill to Lennoxton, torrents of water were seen flowing unchecked, while households were left parched. While some of the leaks were eventually repaired, the sight of water being wasted while taps ran dry only deepened the community’s frustration.
Adding to the mounting anger was the absence of Newcastle Municipality’s Mayor, the Municipal Manager, and the Municipal Speaker, none of whom had addressed the public regarding the crisis. In their silence, Ward Councillors stepped into the void, taking on leadership roles as the elected leaders seemingly retreated from the escalating situation.
Moreover, the community’s dissatisfaction reached boiling point, prompting the creation of a petition that quickly gained traction across Newcastle through various social media platforms. Residents were urged to rally together and take decisive action, determined to hold their leaders accountable for the worsening crisis.
The petition, which is titled ‘gatvolnewcastle’ reads as follows:
“The Community of Newcastle (East and West) hereby requests all spheres of government to assist with the ongoing water crisis in Newcastle East and West.
Some communities have been without clean, drinkable water for months, while others have faced this issue for the past few weeks.
The Department of Water and Sanitation confirmed that water was released to the Newcastle Municipality (Amajuba District).
The blame cannot be attributed to environmental factors, such as a lack of rain, but rather to the Newcastle Municipality and uThukela Water. Newcastle is losing 45% of its water supply due to leaks, broken water pipes, and unqualified service providers contracted by the municipality.
The Community hereby demands the following:
- The Newcastle Municipality must restore the water supply to Newcastle East and West within 48 hours.
- The Newcastle Municipality must confirm how the reservoirs ran dry without implementing a continuous water management plan.
- The Newcastle Municipality must establish a 24-hour Crisis Desk with a dedicated phone number where water losses can be reported, along with a commitment to complete repairs within 24 hours.
- The Newcastle Municipality must provide water tankers to all affected areas immediately.
- The Newcastle Municipality leadership must take full responsibility for this crisis and resolve it within 48 hours.
We, the undersigned, hereby agree to these demands and sign this petition without fear or prejudice.
The Municipality has 48 hours to resolve the issue, failing which the Community of Newcastle East and West will take action against the leadership of the Newcastle Municipality and Uthukela Water.
This is our constitutional right:
The South African Constitution states that everyone has the right to access an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being. This includes a constant supply of clean, safe drinking water. Consumers are entitled to raise concerns about the quality and availability of their drinking water.”
To sign the petition, click here.
As the petition now circulates, and with absolutely no sign of Newcastle Municipality’s leaderships, the Communications Unit officially released a statement on Saturday evening, 14 December 2024. In the statement, the Communications Unit said, “The Municipality is aware of water challenges affecting areas in its jurisdiction, where certain areas are experiencing low water pressure or no water. In the recent past weeks, a heatwave alert was issued by South African Weather Services which has reduced our water sources putting an enormous strain on our current water supply challenges.”
Noting this, the Communications Unit said that it is therefore worth noting that the Municipality is still experiencing water supply challenges due to low water levels in most of the water reservoirs. “The causes of recent water shortages are rain scarcity and high-water demand due to heatwave. In cases where water in the reservoir is below the acceptable level, a notice of closing the reservoir outlet will be issued to affected residents to allow it to reach its optimum capacity.
Burst pipes and water leaks due to aging infrastructure also have an impact in the water supply, the Communications Unit pointed out.
Reflecting on the above, the Communications Unit also said, “To overcome water supply challenges, a temporary water schedule will be communicated to residents through ward councillors and ward committees to supply water on rotational basis i.e. alternating water supply between Madadeni,Osizweni and rural areas. The Municipality will continue dispatching water tankers in areas where severe water shortages are experienced on daily basis, however, the budget is not sufficient to procure or secure more water tankers.”
Furthermore, the Communications Unit said the Municipality will assign a dedicated team for a “war on leak” program to identify and repair all water leaks. Adding to this, and despite still not answering any of Newcastillians News’s questions or the community’s, the Communications Unit went on to state that we should all save water together by adopting the following water saving tips to reduce water consumption this summer:
- Report and fix leaking taps and/or toilets.
- Avoid using a hose to water your garden and/or lawn, alternatively you can opt to use a plant watering bottle.
- Use a broom instead of a hose to clean hard surfaces outside.
- Don’t leave taps running, turn off tap when brushing your teeth, washing hair, shaving or washing dishes.
- Take a shallow bath or switch to having a maximum two minute shower by opening and closing the tap between wetting, soaping and rinsing.
- Only do washing when you have enough items for a full load, for the washing machine.
- Install water saving devices to help reduce water usage and leakage, i.e flow limiters on taps and showers, push button actuators or occupancy detectors in toilets.
As residents grow more and more frustrated, what are your thoughts on the above? And what steps do you feel should now be taken?
Share your views in the comment section below.
Comments 6
Replace this goverment.
They are failing this town!
Next voting day….
Vote wise. All these politicians are the same……
WRONG LEADERS IS THE JOBS…NOT QUALIFIED AND ITS ALL A FAMILY THING… U SCRATCH MY BACK… I WILL SCRATCH YOUR BACK…LACK OF EXPERIENCE AND ITS ALL ABOUT MONEY…THEY DONT CARE… 🤬🤬
It’s amazing how they have all the excuses in the world and no action death also have a cause yet no action taken promises are so empty it’s a joke when are they going to man up and take responsibility I supose never its to easy to pass the buck they should put people in positions to take action not wany beas that can’t take action
Bottom line Vote wisely in the 2025 municipality elections because it’s obvious that this administration cannot get anything done correctly and fails to plan for the future.
Also don’t vote because of party when electing a councillor vote according to what that individual can actually achieve.
Many people just vote because they like a certain party but fail to realise that the individual running for the party is useless beyond measure.
It is only going to get worse as Newscastle is in a shocking state. All rate payers get are excuses but no action.
I doubt that there is any long term planning to resolve the many issues. Even if there is there is little likelihood of any implication as there is no money.
Now we have coal mines that will decimate what’s left of our roads.
Looks like there is a competition between municipalities to see who is the worst.