Chatsworth Residents Take to the Streets Over Water

Residents of Bottlebrush informal settlement took to the streets on Tuesday to protest about water shortages.

About 300 residents of Bottlebrush informal settlement near Chatsworth, eThekwini, took to the streets on Tuesday to complain that they have been short of water for nearly four months.

The water provided by municipal water tankers is not enough to service the area, where there are more than 1,500 houses, according to community leader Nzuzo Mrafa.

The protesters blockaded the entrance to the settlement with debris.

Mrafa said, “Our rights need to be respected. Our area is one of the oldest areas in Durban – it’s not like we have erected shacks last week.”

Another resident, Nozukile Tuse, said water problems had started towards the end of June. “Not having water makes you crazy because you end up not bathing sometimes. When the water tanker arrives to fill up the communal tanks, we push each other,” said Tuse.

Ward councillor Fatima Ismail (DA) said one of the causes of problems was shack dwellers connecting pipes into their yards illegally. Ismail said after a meeting with municipal water department officials, it had been decided to increase the number of communal water tanks in the area and to send more water tankers.

EThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the protests were linked to illegal connections to a pipeline through Chatsworth. She said welders had been sent to the site, but conditions were not safe for repair work. One of the primary concerns was the discharge of raw sewage into the stream near the damaged section of the pipeline because toilets were emptied there. She said the line might have to be rerouted.

Meanwhile, the City had arranged to install three additional water tanks. The number of water tankers sent to fill them would depend on availability, Sisilana said.

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