The eThekwini municipality has allocated an additional R580 million over the next three years to accelerate the construction of key components of the Western Aqueduct (WA) bulk water pipeline.
This has been done to provide Durban with an assured, sustainable supply of water and is particularly critical if development of the key northern coastal corridor is to continue.
This infrastructure is now crucial for the further development of Durban to the west or north-west. Projects such as the Dube Tradeport and Cornubia were being held back by a lack of water.
Head of eThekwini Water and Sanitation, Neil Macleod, had warned that Durban’s water situation was tenuous, with supply outstripping demand. This meant that the city would be in danger of water restrictions following the slightest dip in rainfall.
The completion of the new Springrove Dam at Mooi River, along with high rainfall, has kept damns supplying water to the greater Durban area during the dry winter months.
Macleod warns that this is merely a ‘honeymoon period’, with the slightest escalation in development likely to upset the situation once more.
“From 2014 onwards, we start slipping back to where the supply is not statistically able to meet the demand.”
For more information, contact Shirley Williams on 031 564 7700 or shirley@swcommunications.co.za.