Phoenix water crisis: Residents could face six more years of daily water outages

The water supply is switched off every afternoon and returns the next morning.

Phoenix residents face daily water outages until a major bulk-supply project is completed in 2032, while the municipality says it is repairing infrastructure and managing limited supply.

eThekwini Municipality has confirmed that residents enduring years of daily water shedding will face at least another six years of frustrating outages before a major infrastructure project intended to ease the crisis is completed.

The revelation comes as political parties promise to fix the water crisis in their campaigns for the local government elections (LGE), even though the municipality’s long-term solution is not due until 2032.

The R30-billion Upper uMkhomazi Water Project is intended to supplement the city’s existing water supply. Until it is completed, residents in Phoenix’s wards 48 to 52 remain dependent on an overstretched system that struggles to meet demand. 

The water supply is switched off every afternoon and returns the next morning.

eThekwini Municipality spokesman Senzelwe Mzila told the POST that Phoenix was supplied mainly through the Northern Aqueduct, which carried water from uMngeni-uThukela Water’s Durban Heights Water Treatment Works.

“Demand in the northern corridor has grown substantially, and at peak times it exceeds what the existing bulk infrastructure can deliver into the Phoenix reservoirs. When reservoir levels drop below safe operating levels, the city has to manage supply so that the reservoirs can recover. Without this, the system would drain completely. That would cause longer, unplanned outages, particularly for high-lying households, and could damage infrastructure,” said  Mzila. 

The municipality acknowledged that increasing the volume of water to Phoenix’s reservoirs had made little difference.

“The long-term solution is the Upper uMkhomazi Water Project, which will add a new bulk water source to supplement the city's existing supply. The project is being implemented with the national Department of Water and Sanitation, the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority and uMngeni-uThukela Water. It is scheduled for completion in 2032. In the meantime, the city continues to manage the existing system as fairly as possible and to reduce water losses on the network." 

He said dedicated municipal teams inspect the Northern Aqueduct to identify and repair leaks and defective or vandalised air valves, which reduce the volume of water reaching the Phoenix reservoirs.

“These interventions are aimed at improving the performance of the existing infrastructure and increasing supply hours while the long-term bulk supply project is completed.

“The city fully recognises the constitutional right of access to sufficient water. The current measures do not withdraw that right. They are an operational intervention to share the available supply as fairly as possible across all connected households until bulk capacity is increased. Where supply is affected for extended periods, water tankers are deployed to assist residents." 

For community leader Sham Maharaj, the 2032 deadline raised fundamental questions about how the crisis was allowed to persist for so long.

“Didn't we know this population is growing? They have not planned at all,” he said.

Maharaj also criticised the lack of communication with residents and the absence of water tankers during prolonged outages.

“The prospect of waiting until 2032 for the water issues to go away is not acceptable at all,” he said.

With elections approaching on November 4, he warned that councillors could face a backlash if the situation continued.

“One is just waiting to look at the LGE, which is coming, and there's going to be a lot of anger and disappointment for the current councillors from communities if this continues.”

Roshan Lil-Ruthan, chairperson of the Verulam Water Crisis Committee and the Verulam Business Forum, said the problem extended beyond Phoenix to Verulam, Tongaat and surrounding communities, where unreliable supplies had disrupted homes, businesses, schools and healthcare facilities.

He said many residents were focused on the immediate struggle to secure water rather than the details of long-term infrastructure projects.

“Our experience through continuous engagement with residents across Phoenix, Verulam, Tongaat and surrounding areas is that people are primarily focused on the immediate reality of whether water will be available when they open their taps each day,” he said.

Lil-Ruthan said the municipality needed to do more than make information available.

“There is a difference between information being available and information being effectively communicated. The latter requires ongoing engagement, regular updates, accessible explanations and honest discussions about expected timelines and challenges.”

He said communities could not be expected to endure years of disruption without practical measures to ease the hardship before the major project was completed.

“Large-scale projects such as the Upper uMkhomazi Water Project form an important component of South Africa's future water security strategy and are essential for supporting growing populations and economic development. However, long-term infrastructure projects cannot be viewed in isolation from the immediate realities facing communities today.

“Residents who continue to face daily water interruptions require practical short- and medium-term interventions that provide meaningful relief while larger projects are being implemented. Communities should not be expected to endure years of ongoing hardship without a clearly communicated roadmap detailing how current challenges will be managed during the transition period,” he said.

Phoenix resident Thireshnee Kisten said her family may have to move away from Grove End, Phoenix, if the solution was years away.

"We currently rent in Phoenix. We come home from work, and there is no water. We cannot even store water because there is no water when we are home. My children do not know what it is like to have running water at night. I know all areas have water issues, but water shedding at this scale only happens here. We have to leave."

Amrish Nundkumar said it was clear that Phoenix residents' rights would continue to be violated.

"We are helpless. What more can we do? No one hears our plight. In 2032, we will hear the same story."