Media and Public Statement: Joint Statement By eThekwini Municipality and uMngeni-uThukela Water on the Water Situation in eThekwini Municipality

Following the water challenges that have been affecting the city due to a failure associated with a control valve at the Nagle Dam aqueduct system supplying the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works, the eThekwini Municipality’s Executive Committee, led by Mayor Cyril Xaba, convened an urgent meeting today.

The meeting, which was also attended by the executive management of uMngeni-uThukela Water, sought to obtain an update on the situation and identify measures to ensure continuous water supply while repairs are ongoing.

Residents of eThekwini were given an assurance that repairs to the Nagle Dam are progressing well. Technical teams remain on site working to commission the system. While the repair process has not yet been finalised, progress has been made that will significantly improve the raw water supply to the Durban Heights system.

An isolation valve which had seized in a closed position at Nagle Dam has now been lifted, enabling the Durban Heights Waterworks to begin receiving a full supply of raw water from the Nagle Dam for treatment. This is a critical step toward restoring normal operations within the eThekwini water supply system.

As a result of this development, the Durban Heights Waterworks will be able to operate at full treatment capacity from Monday, 16 March 2026. This will allow the plant to process the maximum volume of water and begin replenishing the broader distribution network. However, full recovery of the reticulation system will thereafter commence for a period of two weeks.

During the disruption, the eThekwini water supply network experienced a daily deficit of approximately 150 megalitres, which caused several reservoirs across the system to run extremely low.

This infrastructure forms a critical raw water supply route feeding the Durban Heights system, which distributes water to a large portion of the metropolitan area.

As a result of the failure and subsequent operational challenges within the aqueduct system, water supply instability has occurred across multiple reservoirs and supply zones.

The Municipality, working with uMngeni-uThukela Water, has implemented a system stabilisation and rationing plan to protect remaining water volumes while repairs are undertaken. These measures are temporary and are intended to restore stability to the network as quickly as possible while minimising widespread outages.

The stabilisation measures include the following:

The City, in conjunction with uMngeni-uThukela Water, will implement a changeover of supply for both aqueducts, the Northern and Southern aqueducts, so that they are supplied from Durban Heights Reservoir 2, which has a smaller storage capacity.

This approach will allow for a quicker recovery period and enable the City to focus on filling one reservoir instead of two, which would take longer to stabilise.

Reservoir 3, which has a larger capacity, will remain isolated until repairs to Aqueducts 3 and 4 are completed and raw water flows improve.

A rationing plan for the affected systems and reservoirs is being implemented. Under this arrangement, some consumers will receive water during the morning only, while others will receive water both in the morning and afternoon until the system stabilises.

Pumping from Durban Heights Reservoir 1 to Pinetown and surrounding reservoirs will be restricted to 16 hours per day to allow maximum volumes of water to be directed to Durban Heights Reservoir 2.

To assist affected communities, the City will activate five water tanker filling points, where tankers will collect water for distribution:

A tanker deployment schedule has been prepared to support water distribution to affected communities.

The Municipality will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as more information becomes available from uMngeni-uThukela Water regarding repair timelines and the restoration of normal raw water inflows.

Residents and businesses are urged to use water sparingly during this period while the system stabilises.

The eThekwini Municipality and uMngeni-uThukela Water apologise for the inconvenience caused.