The water challenges being experienced in the Municipality, particularly in the northern areas, are a constant reminder that water is gradually becoming a scarce resource. While this is a global phenomenon, what compounds our challenge in eThekwini are five issues. These are namely aging infrastructure, rapid urbanisation, floods, theft, and vandalism of our water assets. To address these challenges, the Municipality has approved the Water and Sanitation Master Plan with clear timelines and budget, not only to address the backlog but also to refurbish our ageing infrastructure. 

Unlike other metros in the country, eThekwini Municipality is 60 percent rural and most of these rural areas had no water and sanitation infrastructure pre-1994 due to apartheid spatial development planning. However, despite the limited resources, we have been able to increase water provision. Today, more than one million households receive clean drinking water from their taps. This includes over 380 000 rural and informal households. As a short-term solution to the increasing demand for water and sanitation services, the Municipality is investing R2 billion annually for the upgrade of water and sanitation infrastructure. 

Prolonged power outages have also adversely affected the functioning of water and sanitation infrastructure, particularly our pumpstations. It is for this reason last year we prioritised funding and procured emergency standby generators to several pumpstations which automatically start up in the event of load shedding. We are rolling out this programme to all our pumpstations to ensure uninterrupted power supply for the duration of power outages. We are also aware of the criminal elements who are constantly sabotaging our water infrastructure. The Municipality has beefed up security at key water and sanitation installations. We are also working closely with law enforcement agencies, particularly the State Security Department to proactively deal with this criminality. The demand for water tankers to provide temporary relief to affected communities will increase. It is against this background that last year the Municipality procured new 55 water tankers. By the end of May this year, we would have procured an additional 100 to reduce the number of hired water tankers. 

Another temporary measure that we are implementing to provide clean drinking water in rural areas is the drilling of boreholes where there is sufficient ground water. In the next few weeks, we will be commissioning 20 boreholes that have been drilled in several rural wards. Our long-term plan to address water challenges in the Municipality is to fast track the construction of the Umkhomazi Dam in the south of Durban. We have constant engagements with the Minister of Water and Sanitation and Umgeni Water regarding the commencement of this R24 billion project which will eliminate our water challenges. All these efforts demonstrate that the leadership of the Municipality is working tirelessly to ensure that residents receive uninterrupted water supply.