EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda, accompanied by members of the Executive Committee and community leaders at the commissioning of the second water pump at the oThongathi Water Treatment Plant. He is pictured with Bhavna Soni, Deputy Head of Water and Sanitation: Engineering.

RESIDENTS of Hambanathi, in oThongathi welcomed the good news that the entire community will start to receive water from their taps. This comes after eThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda on 24 January commissioned the second water pump at the oThongathi Water Treatment Plant. He was accompanied by members of the Executive Committee.

OThongathi was one of the areas severely impacted by the floods last year which saw widespread damage to water and sanitation infrastructure. A jubilant Mayor Kaunda said the commissioning of the second pipe follows a restoration project which was completed in October last year. “After the completion of the project, technical problems were experienced in the Hambanathi area. As a result, they were not getting enough flow as the demand increased. To address the challenge, the Municipality installed a second pump to run parallel with the one completed in October. 

We are encouraged by the fact that we now have two pumps that are running in parallel in Hambanathi and the flow has improved. The reservoir levels have also improved to supply the zone,” said Mayor Kaunda. He explained that work is also being undertaken to deal with issues on the trunk main as well as to repair any bursts and leaks. “After all the bursts and
leaks have been repaired, teams will be restarting the pump to supply the oThongathi South Metcalf Reservoir. Now that we have successfully dealt with the issue of oThongathi, we will be turning our focus to the southern and northern areas which have similar challenges. We are confident that with the recommissioning of the Durban Heights Reservoir by uMngeni Water, it will ease the burden of the interruption of water supply in these areas,” added Mayor Kaunda.
He thanked the community for their patience during the repairs. 

simphiwe.dlamini@durban.gov.za