Municipality rolls out water metering project

Through the roll-out of its water metering project, the eThekwini Municipality is trying to stop water wastage.

This week the city started connecting water meters at previously unmetered households and replacing meters where necessary, said head of communications, Lindiwe Khuzwayo. Meter connection has started in Cato Ridge and is being rolled out to other areas in the city.

“The project requires metering of historically unmetered properties, domestic meter change, meter upgrade for industries, commercial and institutional properties as well as zone meter maintenance. The city remains committed to assisting indigent households – the municipality provides free basic water amounting to six kilolitres every month to indigent households,” said Ms Khuzwayo.

Ednick Msweli, head of the water and sanitation unit, said the installation of water meters was among the interventions by the eThekwini municipality to ensure water supply is controlled and accounted for.

“We are addressing the issue of water loss through various interventions,” he said.

“This includes attending to leaks timeously and through meter connection to ensure the water we supply reaches homes and businesses. No water should be unaccounted for,” said Mr Msweli.

“I urge the public to work with the city to protect its infrastructure against theft and vandalism. While we are doing our part to ensure water is accounted for, we also face a challenge of theft of water meters which leaves pipes damaged and results in bursts and subsequent water loss. This not only causes financial loss but also affects residents as they may have an interruption of water supply while teams attend to repairs."

He added that aside from providing free basic water to indigent households, they also provide free sewage disposal, 65 kilowatts of electricity, and refuse removal. The city also provides debt relief for qualifying indigent customers.