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*Water Curtailment to Be Implemented Throughout the City From 10 October 2024*
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Date: 2024-10-10 12:56:14

*Water Curtailment to Be Implemented Throughout the City From 10 October 2024*

ETHEKWINI NEWSFLASH 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
10 October 2024
 
UMngeni-uThukela Water Board (UUW) has implemented water curtailment throughout eThekwini Municipality effective from today, 10 October.
 
The announcement was made jointly by eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba and the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board recently.
 
The water curtailment is being implemented at the directive of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) who issued a notice to UUW to reduce the volume of water abstracted from the uMgeni system to their licenced volumes of 470 million m3/annum. This will mean a reduction on the current sales and abstraction volume of 8.4 percent.
 
Mayor Xaba said the City said the curtailment is aimed to enable continued water availability, including during periods of below-average rainfall.
 
“The risk of not enforcing the abstraction limit is that, should a drought occur, there would not be sufficient water in the system for uMngeni-uThukela Water to continue providing the eThekwini Municipality with a reliable water supply,” he said.
 
The water curtailment is not water shedding where there is a schedule for water cuts at certain times. However, the purpose of the water curtailment is to avoid water shedding by bringing down the total volume used in a controlled manner.
 
The curtailment will be implemented for a period of 12 months.
 
“We urge residents to use water sparingly to assist in reducing the high consumption. As we have indicated in the previous media briefings, the demand for water in eThekwini far outstrips supply and we continue to plead with all stakeholders both our residential and business customers to work with us to address this challenge,” he said.
 
Some of the contributing factors to the high-water usage include rapid urbanisation, aging infrastructure which causes water leaks and illegal connections.  
 
In ensuring that residents are not adversely affected, the city will be implementing the following interventions:
 
• Installation of restrictors in water metres to all consumers
• Pressure reduction in the reticulation network
• Metering all unmetered consumers
• Improve turnaround time in repairing leaks and pipe bursts through deployment of ward-based plumbers
• Community education in water conservation
• Disconnection of illegal connections
 
The average water consumption in eThekwini is very high, as it is between 270 and 298 litres per capita (person), per day (l/c/d) compared to the international average of 173 l/c/d.
 
During this process, the City’s teams will be monitoring the system and manage excessive water demand.
 
ENDS
 
Issued by eThekwini Municipality’s Communication Unit.