Residents of Tafelkop rely on streams and expensive water trucks

Delays in building a R28-billion water project, now scheduled for completion 14 years after the original deadline, have left families in Tafelkop, west of Durban, without water.

Residents claim that their taps, installed in the early 2000s, have been dry for over 15 years.

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The Upper uMkhomazi Water Scheme, intended to bring water to Durban and surrounding areas, such as Tafelkop, was planned to be completed in 2018. But it has been delayed for years due to funding shortfalls and legal disputes over contracts. Construction is not expected to be completed until 2032.

Families in Tafelkop are left to fetch water from streams and rivers, often walking long distances and carrying heavy buckets.

Resident Philile Masuku said she carries 20-litre buckets from a stream at the bottom of a hill, sometimes three times a day.

"We are consuming water meant for animals, but we have no choice. We boil it before drinking or cooking. The standpipes have been vandalised and the pipes left uncovered because there hasn't been water for so long," she said.

According to residents, municipal water trucks used to come twice a week, but have stopped delivering regularly in recent years. Sometimes water trucks charge up to R500 to fill rain tanks. It is unclear whether these are the same trucks that are contracted by the municipality to supply water to the area.

"Our children are suffering," said resident Menzi Madlala. "After school, they must fetch water from the streams or wash their uniforms there. The tankers don't come here regularly -- only when there is a funeral."

EThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said that the water supply system in the western region is operating at less than 50% of its capacity.

"As a short-term intervention, the City is installing boreholes to ensure access to water in affected areas," Sisilana said.