Verulam, Phoenix residents describe ongoing water woes

Verulam, Phoenix residents describe ongoing water woes

Some residents in Verulam and Phoenix say they are fed up and angry after having gone months without water.

DA councillor Yogis Govender described the ongoing water issues in Phoenix, Verulam and oThongathi as a catastrophe.

She said the hardest hit areas included the new phase upper Madrona Drive near the reservoir, which has had no water for 75 days, while nine upper roads have had no water for 54 days “The whole of Trenance Park, new and old phase, has had no water since the morning of January 1 this year,” said Govender.

Trenance Park resident Joshua Ramsamy said while the issue was ongoing for years, it had become much worse.

“Every day you wake up in the morning and you expect water in your taps, but you get nothing. We are paying for a service that we are not getting. The December bill alone is close to R10 000.”

Ramsamy said when times are tough they call on a private company to supply them with water.

Phoenix resident Cynthia Naidoo said they experienced water issues daily.

Naidoo said they had become accustomed to having no water from around 4pm, with it returning at 5am the next day.

“Then some days more frequently it will go off at 10am onwards, like on Christmas Day, we were stuck with no water.”

Another Phoenix resident, Ashveer Singh, questioned how he would be able to stockpile water when water cuts took place randomly during the day and trucks were sent out when the most households were at work.

“That’s why Jojo (tanks) were installed, now they want that taken away. We’re paying for the water, aren’t we?”

On Wednesday, Verulam residents took to the streets in protest, calling on the municipality to address the situation.

The Verulam Water Crisis Committee said it met with the City’s management on Thursday following the protest.

Committee spokesperson Roshan Lil-Ruthan said the meeting provided a detailed overview of the current situation and outlined projected time lines for the necessary work to be carried out.

“To address the water supply issues in Verulam, a comprehensive action plan has been developed. The plan includes analysing the current system, stabilising reservoir zones, optimising the system, refurbishing pumps, and implementing alternative sources of supply,” he said, adding that immediate relief is to be provided through the use of water tankers.

Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana reiterated that the City’s Water and Sanitation Unit has developed a detailed and proactive plan of action to address water supply issues affecting Verulam and surrounding areas.

Sisilana said the interventions being implemented include analysing the current system to increase the water flow to Mt View Reservoir which is at the end of the Northern Aqueduct System.

Mountview Reservoir is the main reservoir and supplies its dependent reservoirs: the Trenance 1 and 3 Reservoirs. Affected areas include Dawncrest, Oaklands, Surya Heights, Sanna Township, Rietriver, Mountview, Parkgate, Trenance Old Phase, Redcliffe, Amaoti, Parkgate, Buffelsdraai, Groenburg Estate, Tea Estate, Valley View, Madrona Drive, Bottlebrush, Celtic and Cottonwood.

“There is a suspected restriction on the Municipality’s Northern Aqueduct water pipeline, possibly caused by air vacuums that may be restricting the free flow of water,” she said.

She said technical teams were working on forcing air out from the system and carrying out other tests to identify and rectify the issue.

“This process is taking longer than expected due to the length of the pipeline being worked on, which is approximately 35 kilometres.

“Vandalism is also a major issue as most air valves that are causing air vacuums are stolen,” said Sisilana.

“Water tankers have been dispatched to affected communities and the distribution of water to affected communities will be co-ordinated through ward councillors.”

The Mercury