Ladysmith water crisis: community demands action

Ladysmith residents are grappling with severe water shortages, prompting protests and community action as they demand answers and solutions from local authorities.

Some residents said they have been without water for a month, while others have had an intermittent supply. 

The affected areas are wards 20, 13 and 10, which are Acaciaville, Aloe Park, Hillside, Rosepark, Leonardsville, Ezakheni, Roosboom and Denova. 

They are all serviced by the Embezeni Water Treatment Works. 

Maseehullah Gaffar, the chairperson of the Ladysmith Civic Association (LCA), said: “We have had this issue since 2022. In 2023, we had 25 consecutive days without water, and now, in high-lying areas, it is 30 days without water. Some households have had one hour of water supply per day.

“NGOs and various other organisations and businesses came out to assist the community. People are also collecting borehole water from mosques and temples, while those who can afford it, are buying water." 

To highlight their plight, the LCA recently staged a protest.

“The decision to protest was spur-of-the-moment after the UThukela District Municipality failed to provide updates about the issue. We were assured we would get updates twice a day but did not.  Since the protest, we have received two media statements. 

"One stated that four new pumps would be installed and the other was about the challenges they faced with the installation of the pumps. In the latter statement, they indicated that water would be restored by 7pm on Saturday. But water was only restored by 2pm on Sunday. By Monday morning, the water pressure started dropping, and high-lying areas now have no water supply." 

These areas include Upper Khandahar Avenue, Upper Saffa Street, Drividian Road, Upper Chisty, Denova, Gaza Place, Meena Place, Platrand and Kwaja Street.

Logan Naidoo, 78, a pensioner from Bengal Road in Ladysmith, said: “They promised that the water would return on Saturday. Instead we got water on Sunday but it went off again. We rely on tankers but they do not come to the area most of the time. When they do, I have to carry the buckets of water by myself and it’s difficult.

“This has been going on for too long. We hoped the protest would have helped but it did not. Mostly elderly people live in these areas that have water issues, and no one cares about us. The municipality only lies about trying to help but if they did, we would have water now." 

He said as a pensioner, who paid his bills on time, he should not have to face this problem. 

Sandhya Maharaj, of Hillside, said: “This water story has been an ongoing problem. It now went to the extreme where we have been without water for a month. It’s tiring and unfair. My son only managed to get water from a tanker once. Other than that, we have had to buy water."  

In a statement, the Uthukela District Municipality said the Ezakheni Water Treatment Works pump installation was underway. 

There was also a shutdown at the Ezakheni Water Treatment Works (WTW) yesterday (Tuesday).

“The purpose is to resume with the work of removing the silt from the raw water abstraction point in order to prevent the newly-installed pumps from being jammed,” said the  Uthukela District Municipality in a statement.

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