R1 billion to fix water supply problems
A massive R1billion will be spent on repairs to water supply infrastructure in Folweni and other areas south of Durban.
On Sunday a mayoral imbizo was held at the Folweni Sports Ground to address the water supply issues that have plagued the community for some time. eThekwini mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda met with the community to discuss service delivery issues and address the plans the municipality has to supply water to the communities in the area.
The municipality has been working on a short-term solution to assist the affected communities who have voiced their concerns over the lack of service delivery. As they attempt to fix the problem, Mr Kaunda said they have deployed waters tankers in the area to service the residents. The municipality will use the iSiphingo pipeline to boost water supply in the area. The mayor said this would unlock some of the challenges the community is faced with.
Mr Kaunda said they would tie in from the iSiphingo pipeline to augment water supply as a temporary fix, while they start working on a permanent resolution.
“Part of the short- to medium-term solution is to isolate the eNsimbini Water Reservoir from load shedding and to install standby generators at uMlazi 2, Ensimbini and Folweni 2 Pumpstations.
“We want to avoid the interruption of water supply during load shedding,” said Mr Kaunda. “The municipality has also commenced with the reconfiguration of the Ensimbini Pumpstation so that it can be fed from Folweni 1 Water Reservoir as opposed to the uMlazi 6 Water Reservoir. These are short- to medium-term interventions aimed at maintaining supply into the uMlazi system which feeds Folweni while a permanent solution of optimising the Southern Aqueduct and replacing sections of the 950mm diameter Soccoman trunkmain is currently at design stage.”
The upper uMkhomazi Dam water project, which is expected to be completed in 2027, is the “ultimate resolution” that will ensure the security of water supply in eThekwini, said Mayor Kaunda. He added that because this project will take some time to complete, the municipality is optimising all possible water supply systems. This includes the Eaton Pumpstation and Adams 6 Reservoir which is due for completion in late November and will provide alternative supply of water from eMbumbulu to Folweni, said Mayor Kaunda.