The Water and Sanitation Department says the water interruptions in the eThekwini Municipality is due to the infrastructure that has been neglected for years.
This as residents from Phoenix and Verulam, in Durban, embarked on protests at the weekend calling for intervention in the endless water crisis.
Residents claim they have not had water for almost two years.
Phoenix residents demand water:
Director-General at the department Dr Sean Phillips says they have met with the municipality and the water board to assess the problem.
He says the implementation of the water project at Hazelmere Dam has contributed to supply.
“We did anticipate demand and we did plan this massive project, what we didn’t anticipate is the project would be delayed because of debates around the affordability of the tariff. We did also implement another project which was to raise the wall of the Hazelmere Dam which is also a major source of water for eThekwini. That project was finished last year, it’s doubled the amount of water in that dam and the water port has also created additional water treatment capacity so the situation could have been a lot worse if we hadn’t done the Hazelmere Dam.”
