Leaks, not demand, behind DBN water crisis - Mayor Xaba
eThekwini has acknowledged its water system has been hit by significant leaks.
Mayor Cyril Xaba says these, and not rising demand, are to blame for the city's water shortages.
He was addressing Executive Committee (Exco) members yesterday, as numerous parts of Durban continue to struggle with supply disruptions.
Patients at the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi have had to rely on tankers and bottled water, after the facility suffered outages more than week ago.
READ: Workers ‘frustrated’ by water outages at Durban hospital
Xaba says the ongoing failures have severely affected revenue and the city's ability to maintain a reliable water service.
"It weakens the city's ability to improve repairs, operations, and infrastructure maintenance and investments, as well as customer responsiveness. There are serious leakages in our system. Our scientists must guide us correctly. We must apply stricter measures around consumption and demand."
