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STATEMENT: Flood Damage in Wushini, Inanda, Accompanying Events and Expression of Compassion by the Board of uMngeni-uThukela Water

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

 

1. Context

1.1The Board of uMngeni-uThukela Water is aware of media coverage pertaining to the destruction of a home in Wushini, Inanda, during the severe floods of 11^th April 2022-12^th April 2022 and reported anger that an uMngeni-uThukela Water pipe allegedly caused the structure to be razed.

1.2. In the aftermath of this tragedy, three children, who are understood to be from the family that resided in that home, are still missing.

1.3. The Board of uMngeni-uThukela Water wishes to state at the outset that its heart goes out to the affected family for the loss of their home and the heartbreak they are having to endure in not knowing the whereabouts of the missing children.

1.4. Every member of the Board, Executive and Staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water shares in their grief and want to provide support to assist the family and others who are affected by this natural disaster to deal with its tragic consequences.

1.5 To this effect, arrangements are being made for members of the Board to meet the family where discussions will be held on numerous matters, including assistance in search for the missing children.

1.6. There can nothing more distressing than the uncertainty created by not having a roof over one’s head and not knowing the whereabouts of missing persons. It is traumatic for loved ones and it is equally heart rendering for everyone at uMngeni-uThukela Water.

1.7. The media has reported in the past 24 hours that the family is angry with uMngeni-uThukela Water because a pipe uMngeni-uThukela Water uses to convey raw water allegedly destroyed the family’s home. It was also reported that three children referred earlier are missing in the washaway.

1.8. uMngeni-uThukela Water is aware that emotions are running high but the media also have a responsibility to research and report facts in an objective manner so that the public has information that is substantial, irrefutable and reliable.

1.9. It is important that the factual position is shared with the public so that misunderstanding, misinterpretation or incorrect perceptions are removed.

1.10. uMngeni-uThukela Water has two pipes in Wushini. Both are underground. They are positioned along the road. Information provided to uMngeni-uThukela Water shows that in the torrential rains, a rock from the nearby hill rolled down and struck one of the pipes, breaking it.

1.11. In the force of water, the pipe careered some distance away. There was a house nearby. The media coverage suggests that the house was struck by a pipe that rolled, destroying it in its impact.

1.12 At the time of the flood event and before the rock fall, both the pipes were supplying raw water to Durban Heights Water Treatment Plant.

1.13. The entire act of dislodging of the pipe and its impact are subject of an internal investigation.

2. Reaching out to the affected and destitute

2.1 uMngeni-uThukela Water is a caring organisation and responsible corporate citizen. It has close ties and, in some instances, partnerships with communities where its infrastructure is situated and where communities ultimately receive drinking water that is supplied by the organisation.

2.2 On Monday, 25 April 2022, members of the Board and Executive visited Inanda where Board members engaged with the local leadership and the community of Wushini.

2.3 The purpose of the visit was to show support for the community, work with the leadership and form a sustainable partnership. Importantly, the Board and uMngeni-uThukela Water as a collective want to assist as the community rebuild their lives.

2.4 This engagement took place at the Wushini Arts Centre. It was a formal programme and the Chairperson of the Board addressed the local community and the leadership.

2.5 As a show of solidarity with members of the local community who lost all their possessions in the floods, grocery parcels were given to them as temporary relief. Drinking water from a water tanker was also made available on the day. Drinking water is also provided through the network of eThekwini Metro’s tankering service, to which uMngeni-uThukela Water has made a financial contribution. This is an expression of the fact that the Board understands and wants to do something to alleviate the human suffering caused by the trail of destruction left by the floods.

3. uMngeni-uThukela Water’s partnership with the leadership and community of Wushini

3.1 Various other initiatives and proposals are under consideration by uMngeni-uThukela Water to assist the local community. This could herald the beginning of a long and sustainable relationship.

3.2 The key priority at this stage is to assist the community with reconstruction and for uMngeni-uThukela Water to work towards full restoration of water provision.

3.3 The local leadership and community are encouraged to make any suggestions they may have on collaboration. An uMngeni-uThukela Water-community-local leadership forum will be established to take the process forward.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit.

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STATEMENT: Steady Increase in Potable Water Production and Supply Post-Storm Devastation

Wednesday, 20 April 2022

Raw water supply to the Durban Heights Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is increasing incrementally through three urgent interventions that have been implemented by uMngeni-uThukela Water as part of its strategies to stabilise the system and ultimately restore full distribution.

Durban Heights WTP supplies drinking water to eThekwini Metro for reticulation in north, south, central and inner west regions of Durban.

Four aqueducts transport water from Nagle Dam to the Durban Heights WTP, namely Aqueduct 1, Aqueduct 2, Aqueduct 3 and Aqueduct 4. In the torrential rain events from 8-11 April 2022, Aqueduct 1 and Aqueduct 2 broke in massive rock falls close to Molweni, Inanda. It was subsequently discovered in ongoing assessments that these aqueducts were also damaged at other points along their route from Nagle Dam and to the Durban Heights WTP.

They have since been taken out of use due to risk they pose to property and people. On average, Aqueduct 1 conveys 100 megalitres (million litres) of raw water per day and Aqueduct 2 moves 150 megalitres per day.

The urgent actions that have been implemented by uMngeni-uThukela Water to augment raw water resources are:

• Optimisation of Aqueduct 3 and Aqueduct 4 by moving additional water through them in order to partially compensate for temporary decommissioning of Aqueduct 1 and Aqueduct 2. This strategy has made it possible for more potable to become available from the Durban Heights WTP in the aftermath of the storms. These aqueducts carry, on average, 200 megalitres each
• Additional raw water, estimated at 100 megalitres, is being drawn from Inanda Dam and transported to the Durban Heights WTP using shaft pumps
• Repairs to damaged infrastructure is being conducted in-house and on a daily basis to assist with stabilisation of the system

These strategies have produced much needed short-term gains that have allowed uMngeni-uThukela Water to minimise uninterrupted supply of potable from the Durban Heights WTP. Their effectiveness is pronounced in the following:

Immediately after damage to Aqueduct 1 and Aqueduct 2, the amount of potable water supplied to eThekwini Metro was, on average, 380 megalitres. The shortfall then amounted to approximately  200 megalitres. Implementation of the above measures has resulted in average increase in output of approximately 100 megalitres of potable water.

uMngeni-uThukela Water is confident that incremental increases in raw water supply through Aqueduct 3 and Aqueduct 4, ongoing augmentation from Inanda Dam and other interventions will assist in optimising supply from Durban Heights WTP. In line with a mapped project schedule, it will be possible to reach the daily average that is taken by eThekwini Metro.

Good progress is also being made with completion of comprehensive assessment of damage. On Tuesday, 19 April 2022, additional aerial surveillance of damage was conducted using a helicopter that was chartered by uMngeni-uThukela Water. Severe damage to some roads made it impossible for staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water to instantly gain access to infrastructure for inspection purposes, therefore, helicopters have had to be used on at least two occasions.

Once a full assessment is completed, a clear picture will emerge of extent of damage, financial resources required to repair or replace infrastructure and duration of work before full restoration is achieved. One of the priorities from the assessment report will be preparation of scope of work (SOW) by 24 April 2022 for service providers and contractors to implement when appointed.

Work is continuing on increasing potable water production at Hazelmere WTP, in the north of Durban, as raw water quality improves. On Wednesday, 13 April 2022, production of potable water was temporarily halted due to extremely high turbidity in raw water from the plant’s supply source, Hazelmere Dam. The plant began operating again on 15 April 2022 when raw water quality improved. This plant supplies eThekwini Metro, iLembe District Municipality and Siza Water for distribution to outlying northern areas of Durban and parts of iLembe, including Newedwe and Ballito, respectively.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, Office of the Chief Executive uMngeni-uThukela Water

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STATEMENT: Potable water production increases at Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant

Saturday, 16 April 2022

In the past 24 hours, there has been a significant improvement in Hazelmere Dam’s water quality, allowing uMngeni-uThukela Water to increase potable water production at the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant. At midday today (Saturday, 16 April 2022), potable water production reached 30 megalitres in a strategy of steadily increasing output as raw water quality improved and treatment processes performed effectively.

The plant produces, on average, 70 megalitres (million) per day. At this stage, 40 megalitres are arriving for treatment and 30 megalitres are being supplied as potable water due to backwashing. The objective is to steadily increase production.

Due to increasing production, uMngeni-uThukela Water has been able to transfer potable water to storage reservoirs within the service area of the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant on a rotational basis. These reservoirs are filling at a steady pace. As production increases overnight, as anticipated, the levels of these reservoirs will further improve. However, numerous variables will determine whether production will increase or not; they include improving raw water quality and effectively functioning treatment processes.

The plant is based in the north of Durban and it supplies eThekwini Metro, iLembe District Municipality and Siza Water for distribution to consumers in Verulam, La Mercy, Sea Tides, Ndwedwe, Waterloo, Groutville and Ballito.

The improvement in output was made possible through steadily improving raw water quality over the past 36 hours. Three days ago turbidity levels were high due to strong inflows into the dam that brought with it very high sediment load and foreign material from catchment run-off. The plant is not designed to cope with this high-suspended solids that are 20 times greater than its design capacity. At that time, production at the plant had to be temporarily halted due to a large increase in suspended solids/sediments from the dam. Operating the plant in these conditions would have resulted in poor water quality that would not have been compliant with SANS 241: 2025 (South African National Standards) for drinking water quality.

The water currently being supplied from the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant is compliant with SANS 241:2015 for drinking water quality. uMngeni-uThukela Water is monitoring water quality twice a day, including at reservoirs.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, Office of the Chief Executive uMngeni-uThukela Water

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STATEMENT: Partial potable water production re-instated at Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant

Thursday, 14 April 2022

Restoration of potable water production at the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant in the north of Durban has begun and a stepped approach is being adopted to get to pull production by tomorrow, Friday, 15 April 2022.

At noon on Thursday, 14 April 2022, the plant was producing 25 megalitres – approximately one-third its daily output – and it is being distributed to eThekwini Metro, iLembe District Municipality and Siza Water on a rotational basis. This means that potable water available is being supplied to the three customers in intervals of five hours, in this way ensuring some water is provided to consumers served by them.

On Wednesday, 13 April 2022, production was temporarily halted due to a large increase in suspended solids/sediment from the Hazelmere Dam, from where the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant draws its water. The plant is not designed to cope with high-suspended solids that are 20 times greater than its design capacity. Operating the plant under these conditions would have resulted in poor water quality, which would not be compliant with SANS 241:2015 and would have represented a potential risk to public health.

Therefore, uMngeni-uThukela Water took a decision to stop production until the raw water quality improved. In response to the situation, staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water began work immediately on desludging the pulsator clarifiers and flushing of process units.

The heavy downpours of 8 April 2022 to 11 April 2022 in the catchments of Hazelmere Dam  contributed to poor water quality, as the run-off brought with it extremely high sediment load and foreign materials. Inflows into Hazelmere Dam have slowed over the past 48 hours.

The suspended solids have now decreased to manageable limits. uMngeni-uThukela Water engineers have restarted the plant and will ramp up production. The programme of production will involve incremental output of five (5) megalitres every hour. If all goes according to plan, full production will be reached by tomorrow. This is dependent on turbidity decreasing significantly and on the quality of final water. Once full production is achieved and the levels of storage reservoirs improve, uMngeni-uThukela Water will be able to increase supply to its customers, ultimately meeting full demands. Consumers are reminded that it takes several hours for reticulation systems to be restored to full functionality.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, Office of the Chief Executive uMngeni-uThukela Water

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STATEMENT: High raw water turbidity forces water treatment plant shutdown at Hazelmere

Wednesday, 13 April 2022

High levels of turbidity in water entering the water treatment plant at Hazelmere, in the north of Durban, has resulted in shutdown of the plant. This means that, at this stage, no water is being treated and consequently uMngeni-uThukela Water, which operates the plant, is unable to supply potable water to eThekwini Metro, iLembe District Municipality and Siza Water.

The water eThekwini Metro receives from the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant is supplied to consumers in Verulam, Waterloo, La Mercy, Sea Tides and part of Ndwedwe. Siza Water supplies Ballito while iLembe District Municipality supplies Ndwedwe and parts of Groutville with water received from the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant.

The cause of high turbidity is directly attributed to the continuous and heavy rains received in the catchments of Hazelmere Dam from Friday, 8 April 2022, until Monday, 11 April 2022. This was followed by heavy inflows into Hazelmere Dam, from where the Hazelmere Water Treatment Plant draws its raw water for treatment, through run-off from saturated ground in the dam’s catchments. The quality of water from long periods of rainfall and from many catchments is often poor.

The quality of water abstracted and supplied to the treatment plant began deteriorating from Tuesday night as strong inflows into the dam continued. As a precaution, uMngeni-uThukela Water began reducing production of potable water.

A decision was taken on Wednesday to completely stop production in order to prevent the possibility of water that is not compliant with SANS 241: 2015 reaching uMngeni-uThukela Water’s customers for distribution to consumers. SANS 24: 2015 regulates drinking water quality to ensure it is safe for consumption; uMngeni-uThukela Water subscribes fully to SANS: 241 and, as a mandatory requirement,  ensures that the potable it produces at all of its plants is fully compliant.

Work began on Wednesday to flush the process units so that uMngeni-uThukela Water is able to produce water that meets SAN 241: 2015 standards. Once this has been completed, production of potable water will begin again, after which supply to customers will resume. The reticulation systems that enable supply to consumers takes a while to recover.

uMngeni-uThukela Water wishes to assure its customers and consumers that there will no delays in completing the work required to fully restore production. An apology is also issued for inconvenience caused initially by reduced production and supply of potable and the temporary termination of production that was imperative to ensure full compliance with SANS 241: 2015.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, Office of the Chief Executive uMngeni-uThukela Water

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STATEMENT: Emergency water release from Hazelmere Dam and communities cautioned.

Water to be released from Hazelmere Dam from 12 April 2022: Communities urged to exercise caution at Umdloti River.

Monday, 11 April 2022

Torrential rains over the past 72 hours have pushed up the level of Hazelmere Dam, in the north of Durban, to approximately 65%, which poses a risk to the wall extension that is currently under construction.

uMngeni-uThukela Water, which manages this dam, has now taken a decision to release water from the dam on an emergency basis in order to reduce the level to 53%. The first release will begin on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, and continue until 53% is reached.

Communities residing close to or on the banks of the Umdloti River are reminded that when water is released, the level of the river rises rapidly. This could pose a risk to the safety of any person who tries to cross the river. It could also pose risk to structures erected on the river’s banks.

It is not known how long it will take to reach the required level of 53%. Due to saturation of the ground, the run-off into the dam remains strong as heavy rains continue. In January 2022, the dam reached 63% and it took five days for it to drop to 53% in releases.

The rapid rise in the dam level in the past weekend was the result of heavy rains in the catchments of Hazelmere Dam. The release is necessary to maintain a safe operating level, set at 53% in the interim pending completion of the raising of the wall project.

If the level of the dam is kept at 64%/65%, water will go over the wall that is under construction and it could topple.

The raising of the dam wall project was commissioned by the Department of Water and Sanitation and, after protracted delays caused by construction-related complications, the contractor has returned to site. About 10% of the work remains unfinished and completion is scheduled for end of 2022.

When completed, the raised wall will more than double the storage capacity of the dam, thus reducing risk of water shortages occurring again. The most recent case of water inadequacy in Hazelmere Dam occurred during the protracted drought of 2015-2017.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, uMngeni-uThukela Water.

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STATEMENT: Flooded water abstraction pumps in the Mooi River causes drinking water supply failure

Thursday, 17 March 2022

Two raw water abstraction pumps in the Mooi River have been flooded in torrential rains in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands over the past 48 hours.

This has resulted in a situation in which uMngeni-uThukela Water is unable to convey water from the Mooi River to the Mpofana Water Treatment Plant in the town of Mooi River for treatment and supply to the uMgungundlovu District Municipality. Four bulk reservoirs in Mooi River that uMngeni-uThukela Water uses to store drinking water are now empty.

The cumulative effect of the current situation is that the uMgungundlovu District Municipality is unable to supply water to the town of Mooi River, the vast Bruntville and surrounding residential areas. The water abstraction pumps in the Mooi River, which are housed in a small brick structure on the bank of the river upstream of the town of Mooi River, failed at 17h00 on Wednesday after unabatingly heavy rains. The river had burst its banks at that time.

Due to strong flow and the high level of the Mooi River, by Thursday afternoon asset management staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water were still unable to reach the pumps to assess extent of damage. The pumps will be examined once the level of the river subsides. When the pumps are removed, they will have to be disassembled, repaired and reinstalled, a process that could take up to 48 hours.

As an emergency measure to ensure some drinking water is available to consumers in the town of Mooi River, Bruntville and surrounding areas, uMngeni-uThukela Water has informed uMgungundlovu District Municipality that potable will be made available from its new Rosetta Water Treatment Works, to be taken by the municipality in motorised water tankers.

Three months ago, in January 2022, the same pumps in the Mooi River failed in torrential rains and uMngeni-uThukela Water was unable to abstract raw water and convey to the Mpofana plant for treatment and supply to uMgungundlovu. The town of Mooi River, Bruntville and surrounding areas did not have drinking water for four days.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, uMngeni-uThukela Water

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STATEMENT: Cause of Inadequate Water Supply to Ixopo and Remedial Action Implemented

Joint Statement 

uMngeni-uThukela Water and Harry Gwala District Municipality

Thursday, 10 March 2022

During the past weekend the town of Ixopo and some surrounding areas experienced water supply interruptions, intermittent water supply or low pressure when taps were opened. This was caused by uMngeni-uThukela Water being unable to abstract adequate water from the Home Farm Dam for treatment at the Ixopo Water Treatment Works and supply to Harry Gwala District Municipality.

Following extensive investigations by staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water, the source of the problem was identified. As is known, much of the Home Farm Dam surface is covered by proliferating alien vegetation. The pumps that abstract water from the dam were found to have been clogged with this vegetation, making it impossible to draw sufficient water.

The first pump failure occurred last Thursday night, and staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water responded immediately by attempting to identify the source of blockage.

When it was discovered that vegetation had been causing the obstruction, staff of uMngeni-uThukela Water began the process of trying to remove it so that water could flow through it again. It must be noted that this is both a laborious and time-consuming process. In order to expedite full functionality of the pumps again, uMngeni-uThukela Water is to obtain the services of divers who will remove vegetation from the abstraction pumps through mechanical means.

While full recovery is underway, uMngeni-uThukela Water wishes to inform consumers that volumes of water being abstracted have since improved, resulting in more potable water becoming available for supply to Harry Gwala DM. The level of the bulk reservoir has also improved and is currently at 60%.

An appeal is being made to consumers to please bear with us while interventions are being implemented to assist in ensuring that raw water abstraction and supply to the plant return to normal as quickly as possible.

As an additional mitigation measure, the plant is shut off from 21h00 to 04h00 daily in order to build the reservoir’s capacity. This will continue until the interventions are completed.

 

 

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STATEMENT: Water shortages in parts of Pietermaritzburg

Thursday, 10 March 2022

Consumers in some parts of Pietermaritzburg’s northern suburbs, Willowton and the industrial area adjacent to Eastwood experienced low water pressure or water shortages on Thursday, 10 March 2022. This was caused by filters at the DV Harris Water Treatment Works being clogged because of high amounts of algae that had made its way into the raw water conveyance system. As a result, the DV Harris plant was not able to treat the full amount of raw water it receives daily and water overflows from this plant became inevitable because of blockages.

Water is abstracted from Midmar Dam and supplied to the DV Harris plant and to the Midmar Water Treatment Works. Production of potable water at the Midmar Water Treatment Works was affected to a lesser extent by the algae problem, which originates from Midmar Dam.

Early estimates indicate that potable water production had reduced by 50% at the DV Harris plant which, in turn, meant that uMngeni-uThukela Water was unable to supply the full daily quota of potable water that is required by Msunduzi Local Municipality and the uMgungundlovu District Municipality.

Msunduzi Local Municipality reservoirs that were affected by reduced volumes of supply from the DV Harris plant are Claridge, Belfort and Clarendon. The uMgungundlovu District Municipality reservoirs in uMshwathi also began receiving reduced volumes of drinking water.

uMngeni-uThukela Water staff are working around the clock to flush out the algae from the filters. This is a time-consuming process as it only can be done with one filter at a time. It is expected that this work will be completed by the early hours of Friday morning, after which full production will be restored at the DV Harris plant.

uMngeni-uThukela Water apologises to consumers for inconvenience caused, assures them that there will be no unnecessary delays in completing the work and that every effort will be made to restore full drinking water supply.

Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, uMngeni-uThukela Water

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STATEMENT: Water Produced and Supplied by uMngeni-uThukela Water is Safe to Drink

Tuesday, 22 February 2022

Anonymous messages have appeared on Whatsapp in the past few days concerning fears that water quality may have been compromised by “typhoid”. In the interest of public health and to allay fears, uMngeni-uThukela Water provides an assurance that the potable water it supplies to its seven municipal customers conforms to drinking water quality standards as stipulated in South African National Standards (SANS) 241 for drinking water quality.

uMngeni-uThukela Water uses advanced water treatment technologies and chemicals to treat raw water abstracted from rivers and dams to ensure that safe drinking water is produced for the protection of public health. Chlorine and chlorine-based compounds are used as disinfectants to efficiently and effectively destroy microorganisms during the water treatment process. The organism that causes typhoid fever is susceptible to chlorine and is destroyed by the water treatment process.

The potable water that is supplied by uMngeni-uThukela Water bulk water works to its municipal customers is fully compliant with the requirements of SANS 241 and poses an insignificant risk to human health over a lifetime of consumption. In the presence of a disinfectant residual, tap water supplied by uMngeni-uThukela Water is safe to drink without boiling or further disinfection.

uMngeni-uThukela Water supplies drinking water in bulk to eThekwini Metro, Msunduzi Local Municipality, uMgungundlovu District Municipality, iLembe District Municipality, Ugu District Municipality, Harry Gwala District Municipality and King Cetshwayo District Municipality. This water is treated at some of uMngeni-uThukela Water’s plants that use sophisticated technology and the treatment process is rigorous in ensuring only water that is safe for public consumption is distributed.

In addition to daily monitoring of drinking water, supplementary monitoring is currently being undertaken, using a precautionary approach, to evaluate any areas where possible additional risk is posed by typhoid fever.

 Issued by the Corporate Stakeholder Management Unit, uMngeni-uThukela Water Head Office, Pietermaritzburg

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