Water leaks cannot be left unresolved says Mchunu

KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu hopes the War on Water Leaks campaign will dramatically reduce the amount of water that is wasted in the province each year. Image: AEES

Mchunu visited KwaMashu Township in northern Durban as part of the province's War on Water Leaks campaign.

He said: "We will continue with this campaign across the province, and mayors and councillors must demonstrate leadership and be at the forefront of change," he said as he encouraged communities to report water leaks and illegal connections to authorities such as municipal offices and law enforcement agencies.

"Through the War on Water Leaks, we are educating the people of this province about the importance of fixing leaking taps in their homes," the Premier said.

He said one drop per second from a leaking tap wasted up to 30 litres of water an hour, meaning that one household wasted 10,000 litres of water a year through leaking taps.

"This excludes water leaks in schools, hospitals, clinics, government offices, public buildings and other recreational facilities in various municipalities," Mchunu added.

Referring to industrial areas, Mchunu said that government is committed to working with captains of industry, business chambers, small and commercial farmers to ensure that they all comply with the water laws in the country," said Mchunu.

He confirmed that R2.4 million has been allocated to eThekwini Municipality by the Water and Sanitation Department, to take care of water leaks in Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu area.

"In the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu area about 533 leaks have been identified and fixed. About 375 illegal connections have been removed and 950 cases of water theft have been investigated," Mchunu said.

He said that in 2011/12 the eThekwini Municipality a total of 85.6bn litres of water, more than 234m of litres a day, was lost by the municipality through leaks and water thefts.

He encouraged municipalities to use the Municipal Water Infrastructure Grant (MWIG) to implement water conservation programme.