The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has set aside R352,4 million to help alleviate the situation in 10 drought-stricken areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Poor rainfall in recent months in most parts of the province has plunged river and dam levels in the region to a crisis. Subsequently, the KZN Provincial Government has declared the province a disaster area.
DWS has formed a partnership with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in an effort to minimize the impact of the drought. The two departments have, together with water boards in the province, established a disaster management committee to co-ordinate their relief efforts.
DWS head in the province, Mr Ashley Starkey, said the region was experiencing low rainfalls for the first time in 10 years. Ilembe and Ugu District Municipalities on the north and south coast are the hardest hit by the drought. Most towns in Uthulungulu – including Mtubatuba, St Lucia, and Richards Bay – have introduced water restrictions to deal with the difficulty. Inland towns such as Nquthu, Tugela Ferry and Dundee which fall under UMzinyathi District Municipality have also introduced water restrictions.
“All the dam levels in the Umgeni Water operational area are currently below the levels they had been in the corresponding period in previous years. The drought’s devastating effects are quite palpable. During the middle of the festive season a heat wave hit eThekwini City and surrounding areas.”
Starkey said as a short term intervention the allocated money would be used among others to:
- Implement water restrictions that have been imposed by some municipalities
- Provide water tankers at Hazelmere
- Procure generators
- The fast-tracking of Weza Water System water use licence
- Refurbishing of ailing boreholes at UMzinyathi.
Long term measures will include the augmentation of the South Coast Pipeline in UGu District, the fast-tracking of the upgrading of Kwabani Dam, and the improvement of the Lower Thukela weir extraction capacity. Also, feasibility studies will be done with a view to building a desalination plant in the north of Durban.
Starkey said relevant departments have formed a partnership with the Department of Co-Operative and Traditional Affairs and formed a disaster management team in order to manage the difficulty. The team has put into place short, medium and long term plans to alleviate the situation. The previous heat wave coincided with water restrictions which had a negative impact on the holiday towns as holidaymakers decided to cut their holidays short.
He said the situation relating to Hazelmere Dam in Verulam was of serious concern as the dam level stood at an alarming 36% and was reducing by 1 percent every six – seven days. Most rivers in the area were not flowing normally while others have dried up. The situation was exacerbated by small businesses that were conducting sand-mining in rivers and streams. The diversion of water flow through sand-mining activities negatively affected the dam levels downstream.
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