INLSA
Sipho Khumalo
UMGENI Water, which provides bulk water supplies to Ballito, said yesterday that the seaside town would not face water shortages during the Easter holidays, as it had during the December 2011 holiday.
Last week, the Dolphin Coast Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association expressed fears of shortages during the next holiday period.
However, the acting chief executive of Umgeni Water, Nica Gevers, said yesterday that she was confident that measures being undertaken by the utility would not only address the immediate operating problems, but also the medium- to long-term water requirements of the Ilembe district municipality, under which Ballito fell, and peak demand periods in 2012.
She said Umgeni Water had convened a task team to deal with the situation in conjunction with Sembcorp Siza Water, the provider of reticulated water services to Ballito.
Intensified
“There will be intensified monitoring of the levels of the Avondale reservoir – which supplies Sembcorp Siza Water’s systems – to prevent the level from dropping. Umgeni Water, together with Sembcorp Siza Water, will be implementing a strategy of building up storage levels in secondary reservoirs to accommodate the expected high outflow from the reservoir during the peak demand period,” said Gevers.
However, she warned that it might be necessary to shut off the supply to certain consumers late at night. She said back-up plans to manage the existing infrastructure were in place, and spares and pumps had been made available to be installed within hours when necessary.
Gevers said the completion date for a new pipeline from the Hazelmere water treatment plant to the Avondale reservoir would be brought forward to December 2012 from the original March 2013 deadline. A new pump station to supply the La Mercy reservoir would be built by October 2013.
The Dolphin Coast Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association said
it was not satisfied with Umgeni Water’s statement.
