The eThekwini Municipality has urged residents with static water tanks (Jojo tanks) in their homes to disconnect them from the municipal reticulation system to conserve water.
In a statement, the city said the Phoenix 2 Reservoir Zone was struggling the most due to the increased number of static water tanks that residents have installed in their homes.
Explaining the problem eThekwini spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said:
“The negative impact of having too many static tanks is that the available water supply is not shared equitably among residents.
“As water fills up in static tanks, some families experience intermittent or no water supply, while the reservoir builds up storage,” explained Sisilana.
The city said if there was no cooperation they would be forced to take drastic measures.
“This will include installing restrictors for all properties with static tanks to limit the amount of water that these properties consume and store in their tanks.”
As an alternative the city encouraged residents to practice rainwater harvesting as a viable option for additional water storage.
The city assured the public that their teams were attending to the persistent water outages that are affecting some parts of the northern Durban areas including Phoenix, where there has been a noticeable increase in static water tanks.
“It is estimated that about 70 percent of the properties with static tanks draw water from the Phoenix 2 Reservoir Zone, and this percentage equates to an additional reservoir that the City has to fill up to ensure equitably water supply,” said Sisilana.
The affected areas in Phoenix that are affected include Sunford, Hannaford, Phoenix Highway, Longcroft, Longbury, Plaza, Southberry, Eastbury, Sastri Park, Caneside, Canehaven, Woodview and the Grove End area.
Apologising for the problem, the City said the public can download eThekwini Municipality’s mobile app to log faults or send a WhatsApp to 073 1483 477.
IOL News