Water outages in parts of KZN leave many frustrated
Community councillors say the best way to end frustration is to approach things from a planning mindset. Be prepared.
Carol Ofori always likes to begin her week from a place of appreciation, but this Monday, we can imagine that not all Durbanites are seeing clearly with their interrupted water supply this weekend.
But we must urge you to remember that life is about perspective, and when you cannot control what is happening around you, planning is the best way to approach it (apart from gratitude).
Since Friday evening, a water outage has affected many areas in and around Durban. At first, communication around the shutdown was vague, but now it seems that councillors are informing communities to be prepared for this inconsistent supply.
The eThekwini Municipality sent out communication to residents saying:
"This is due to the Municipality being supplied with reduced volumes of water by uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) through the Durban Heights Treatment Works. According to the previous statements issued by UUW, volume reduction is due to filters being clogged by large volumes of algae. Several interventions are in progress to resolve this challenge. As of 25 August, only one bulk pipeline is open to convey water from the Durban Heights Treatment Works to the City’s reservoirs. This has resulted in a much lower rate of water going into our system, which is already depleted." (Facebook)
Affected areas include but are not limited to:
- Parts of Phoenix
- Ntuzuma
- Parts of Kwamashu
- Cornubia
- Mountview
- Parts of Durban North
- Virginia
- Newlands West
As usual, residents have been urged to remain patient, which can be difficult when you have families to care for and an inconsistent water supply. But as we said earlier, it is out of our control, so the best thing to do is be prepared.
Although many areas have received water tankers to assist residents, councillors and community leaders have urged residents to top up their water supply as soon as they can access water.
Read more: Buthelezi: Water waste costing KZN billions
Contingencies are the way forward for a community, as some businesses offer residents borehole water.
This is a great example of how we can do better in conservation efforts. Staying mindful of how we use water on a daily basis prepares us for days when there is no water. Admittedly, we can understand the community members who might say that they are paying for water and have every right to complain when it is not freely accessible to them.
But as we said earlier, some things are out of our control. Here are some tips on being more prepared in the future:
- Use your stored water sparingly. Refill water bottles or containers as soon as the water is back.
- Collect rainwater; here is an excellent video on how you can set this up in your home.
- Reuse water: if you have used water to rinse your dishes or your veggies, you can reuse the water for flushing the toilet for instance.
- Skip washing clothes or dishes during this time as you don't know when the water will return.
- Use hand sanitiser to clean your hands instead of water.
- Baby wipes and dry hair shampoo are helpful in your personal hygiene department.
- Think about making one-pot meals, this helps with using less water when cooking and for clean up.
- Ready-to-eat foods like canned or boxed goods can be made, which helps reduce the use of water during preparation.
- Disposable utensils are your friend during this time (be mindful of the environment and stick to recyclable material.
- Invest in water purification tools (like sterilisers, bleach or tablets).
- Create a water storage plan - roughly work on 3 to 4 litres of water per person daily.
- Remember this is not forever, stay alert with updates and think of everything from a place of conservation.
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Image Courtesy of iStock/Evgen_Prozhyrko