EThekwini Municipality has urged the city’s residents to stop illegal water and electricity connections warning that it was both dangerous and unlawful while also impacting badly on other people.

The public appeal comes after a man was arrested when he was caught damaging the city’s water pipeline while illegally connecting it to a property. The damaged pipeline resulted in the interruption of the water supply in Lamontville and prompted the city of eThekwini to open a case of infrastructure damage with the police.

Acting Head of Water and Sanitation Msizi Shabalala condemned the incident, noting the negative effect it had on the everyday activities of people living in the area.

“His conduct caused inconvenience to an entire community who are now left without water while we are working on the repair. We have zero tolerance against illegal connections and will continue to take a hard stance against perpetrators,” said Shabalala.

He also warned the public against encroachment saying that it was risky.

“Encroachment hampers the process of undertaking maintenance work. The structure which he was trying to illegally connect to encroached on our pipeline servitude. This is a risk to human life and property, should the pipes burst,” Shabalala said.

He appealed to public to look for marker poles, painted in orange and yellow for bulk pipelines and blue only for reticulation pipelines, and to refrain from erecting any structures over them.

Water running freely as a result of a damaged pipeline from an illegal connection by a resident in Lamontville. Photo supplied

Water supply has been a persistent challenge in the city for months now with many residents complaining of going without water for hours, and sometimes even days r prompting the municipality to use water tankers in an effort to deal with the challenge.

Meanwhile the city has expressed hope that a water dashboard which was launched at the start of the month will enable residents, businesses, and relevant stakeholders to get a common understanding of the state of the water system.

The dashboard provides reliable and up-to-date information to allow water users to make informed decisions about their personal water use, while they will also remained informed about the government’s interventions to improve water security. Currently, the dashboard is hosted on the website of the Department of Water and Sanitation and is linked to eThekwini Municipality’s website.

According to the municipality, the dashboard is an initiative of the Platform for Water Secure eThekwini Working Group which was established by the Department of Water and Sanitation in collaboration with municipalities that are experiencing water shortages. It is supported by the 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG) at the World Bank.

The water dashboard, the city stressed, would help residents to keep track of water shortages and repairs in their areas. The dashboard will be released monthly for the moment, and the aim is to improve it over time. The dashboard can be accessed on www.durban.gov.za or www.dws.gov.za