Date: 2025-10-09 11:58:32

Parliament’s committee receives progress update on the eThekwini Municipality’s key water and sanitation projects

ETHEKWINI NEWSFLASH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9 OCTOBER 2025

PARLIAMENT’S COMMITTEE RECEIVES PROGRESS UPDATE ON THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY’S KEY WATER AND SANITATION PROJECTS

Parliament’s Committee on Water and Sanitation on Wednesday, 8 October, conducted an oversight visit to the eThekwini Municipality’s key water and sanitation projects and noted steady progress made to date.

Chief Whip for the City’s Trading Services Committee, Councillor Sandile Gwala, represented the City’s political leadership and welcomed members of the portfolio committee.

The oversight visit commenced with a meeting where the Executives from the City’s Water and Sanitation (EWS) Directorate, and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial representatives of Department of Water and Sanitation provided the committee with an update on the support by the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG). Their PeWG support includes accelerating EWS Turnaround Strategy, to facilitate partnerships and collaborations, as well as monitoring the implementation of strategic and high impact projects.

Site visits included inspection of Northern Wastewater Treatment Works, where repairs are in progress. The facility is recovering from major flood damage that swept through the site in 2022.

The teams have stabilised operations, with the plant achieving more than 80% in its effluent quality compliance. 

This has reduced contamination at the Umgeni River mouth and beaches in the vicinity.

Other milestones to date include the revival of three out of four bioreactor lanes, repairs and upgrade of mechanical and electrical equipment at critical access points, restoring capacity in the maturation ponds and the refurbishment of the complete Head of Works, scheduled for commissioning by the end of October.

The committee also visited one of the construction sites of the Southern Aqueduct at Westville.  

The Southern Aqueduct project is well underway and aims to bring the City closer to a reliable bulk water network once completed next year. 

The upsized 24-kilometre steel pipeline runs from the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works through Westville,

Chatsworth, Northdene and down to Umlazi.  It supplies more than 1.2 million people through 33 reservoirs.

The oversight visit reaffirmed government’s commitment to improving water supply and sustainable sanitation infrastructure.

Ends

Issued by eThekwini Municipality’s Marketing and Communications Directorate