By Lloyd Govindsamy
Ward 61 councillor, Dolly Munien, has reassured the residents of Tongaat that progress is being made with the reconstruction of the oThongathi Water Works Treatment Plant which was damaged during the flood in April, leaving dozens of homes without running water in the north of Durban.
This comes after residents and civic associations lambasted Munien and the eThekwini Municipality for failure in giving update reports to the affected communities. Jay Lovey Govender, secretary for the Tongaat Ratepayers Association, said it is unfortunate that the community organisation cannot give any report pertaining to the work at the plant because they have been left in the dark.
“Only the councillors have access to the plant. The community has seen pictures but explanations surrounding the progress made are vague. We, the laymen of the community, do not understand the technical terms regarding the restoration of the plant. However, we expect councillors to put out a understandable report and communicate with us more effectively so we have an idea of where we stand regarding water returning to our homes,” said Govender.
Don Perumal, chairperson of the Tongaat Civic Association, said when the plant was handed over, Icon (the contractors) and the councillors said they would establish a Public Service Committee, which is yet to materialise. “After emailing officials I was redirected to the communications department which sent out responses on the eThekwini Facebook page. All we are asking is for a weekly progress report from site with photos to indicate progress. Water has been on everyone’s mind in the last few months, driving us insane. We all have our hopes on this project and just a little update on a weekly basis is not hard to do. It will, at least ease the minds of people. Contractors, eThekwini and our councillors please assist in weekly genuine updates to the people of Tongaat,” said Perumal.
Munien reassured residents and said everything was on track, following a recent visit to the plant. She said: “I would like to inform the public that restoration is taking place as planned and that work is continuing at a respectable pace. There are even times where the contractors are working night shifts and weekends to ensure they reach their targets. At this pace the community should receive water in their taps towards the end of October.”
Munien commended the contractor and said work is happening daily and if there is something that cannot be done on site, it is assembled off site and brought to the plant. “According to the site report sent to us, which is very detailed, we understand that some delays experienced was down to the flooding of a pump house due to rising back feed from Mamba Ridge bypass. The Inlet Chamber has been cleared of debris and grouting operation will soon commence. Progress was also made at the driveway to the chlorine room where backfilling is currently taking place, gabions are to be placed as per the layout issued and material is being compacted and tested in layers. There was also high pressure cleaning of the clear water reservoir where all channels were cleaned of loose materials. In the pump room pipe work, motors, pumps and control valves were removed for assessment or returned to eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS),” said Munien.
