eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has outlined the municipality's spending on water-loss interventions during a Sunday briefing in Durban. The update on 4 October reviewed work under the city's existing water and sanitation turnaround programme. Xaba linked the interventions to the turnaround strategy adopted by the council in 2024 as part of National Treasury's trading-services reforms.
According to reports, Xaba said R565 million had been allocated for specialised leak repairs, R102 million for proactive leak detection and R100 million for pipe replacement. An additional R124 million was allocated to recruit 70 of the 202 additional plumbers required, with the aim of shortening the time taken to isolate burst pipes to four hours.
The spending figures also included R70 million for new meters, R54 million to automate reservoir outlets and R5 million for rural bulk meters. Xaba said 150,000 flow restrictors had been installed in high-pressure areas by the end of June. The interventions also include replacing ageing household and industrial meters, installing bulk meters at reservoirs and water-tanker filling points, and strengthening technical teams and the vehicles available to them.
The briefing followed the final council meeting of the current term, with local government elections scheduled for 4 November. The water-loss programme runs alongside upgrades to the city's bulk supply network. On 28 September, part of Work Package 2 of the R1.2 billion Southern Aqueduct project was commissioned.
The commissioned section forms part of a 3.8-kilometre pipeline between Shallcross and Northdene. Once fully completed, it is intended to reduce dependence on a single ageing main and give maintenance teams more flexibility. The wider 24-kilometre aqueduct upgrade is intended to strengthen a network serving about 1.2 million residents through 33 reservoirs.
Work Packages 4, 5 and 6 of the Southern Aqueduct project were still under construction at the time of the September report. The upgrades aim to improve the reliability and efficiency of the water supply network. The project is part of a larger effort to address water losses and improve the overall water infrastructure in eThekwini.
The municipality's efforts to address water losses and improve the water supply network are ongoing. The water-loss programme and upgrades to the bulk supply network are critical components of the city's strategy to ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply for its residents.
Key points
- eThekwini allocates R565 million for specialised leak repairs.
- The municipality aims to shorten the time taken to isolate burst pipes to four hours.
- The Southern Aqueduct project is intended to strengthen a network serving about 1.2 million residents.
