uMngeni-uThukela Water announces water curtailment measures for eThekwini, Msunduzi and uMgungundlovu
UMngeni-uThukela Water will be reintroducing water curtailments to ensure sustainable water management from September 1.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Water curtailment measures will come into effect from September 1 and may impact Durban and Pietermaritzburg residents, as well as those living in the KZN Midlands.
A notice from uMngeni-uThukela Water advised that the curtailments will be reintroduced from September 1 and will affect the eThekwini Municipality, Msunduzi Municipality and the uMgungundlovu District Municipality, all of which are supplied from the uMngeni River system.
The statement said: “This intervention is in keeping with the abstraction licence conditions issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). These conditions require that uMngeni-uThukela Water must not go above the set limits when abstracting water from dams.
“This is to safeguard the long-term sustainability of the system and ensure water availability in times of low or no rainfall.”
The water board said that the Department of Water and Sanitation first introduced the curtailments in 2024 as a means of reducing the amount of water abstracted by uMngeni-uThukela Water from dams to be in line with the permissible abstraction volumes.
The curtailments were suspended due to a healthy summer rainfall season and overflowing dams, but uMngeni-uThukela Water said it has been supplying water that exceeds the contracted volumes to the three affected municipalities.
“While dam levels within the uMngeni system are currently stable, it is critical to implement prudent water management measures in anticipation of possible future drought conditions. The curtailments will involve a percentage reduction in water supplied to the affected municipalities,” the statement said.
uMngeni-uThukela Water said the municipalities will, in turn, determine and communicate specific restrictions or supply adjustments for consumers.