Illegal water connections in informal settlements get municipal attention

CITY Manager Musa Mbhele said illegal water connections in informal settlements were setting a bad precedent, prejudicing paying customers in formal homes.

- ZAINUL DAWOOD

Mbhele was speaking at an eThekwini Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday after a report on the status of water supply was discussed by the eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) Unit.

The report briefly mentioned the removal of illegal connections to a main trunk line at the sprawling Bottlebrush informal settlement in Chatsworth. The EWS said they had warned residents that connecting to the main water pipelines was dangerous because of the pressure in the system.

The residents from the informal settlement took to the streets in protest on Monday, blocking roads and stoning passing vehicles because they did not have water.

The EWS has since placed three static tanks at the informal settlement, which they intend to fill up using water tankers, adding that they were also dealing with illegal connections in Nagina and KwaXimba.

Yogis Govender, the Democratic Alliance's Exco member, requested that more details on the municipality's plan to eradicate illegal water connections at informal settlements be presented.