Durban's water woes – Algae clogs filters as residents brace for extended supply disruptions

Durban residents woke on 5 November to a third day of pelting rain – and the ominous sound of hissing and spluttering as taps ran dry in the northern parts of the city.

The Tuesday morning tap water cutoffs - mainly in the Durban North, Virginia and uMhlanga area - have been blamed on large volumes of algae clogging up the filters at the Durban Heights water treatment works in Dunkeld Road, Reservoir Hills.

According to the uMngeni-uThukela Water utility company that supplies Durban with purified tap water, filters are clogged due to a sudden increase in algae levels in the Albert Falls, Inanda and Nagle dams, three of the city’s largest sources of raw water.

As a result, some areas within the eThekwini municipality were experiencing “water disruptions”.

“While the waterworks is still producing potable water of excellent quality standards, the production capacity has decreased due to increased desludging and the frequent back-washing of filters to get rid of the algae.”

uMngeni-uThukela Water said in a media statement that the utility was “continuing with efforts to optimise its treatment processes” and this included advanced chemical treatment methods to unclog filters.

Utility spokesperson Siyabonga Maphumulo said he was not able to give a clear indication of how long the tap water shortages would last, but it was possible the problem could continue for a few days or possibly two weeks.

“It’s always difficult to speculate conclusively with these naturally occurring phenomena but from lessons learnt during the last algae outbreak earlier this year, it took anything between a few days to a week to two, before we saw it gradually subside. This was of course augmented by rigorous treatment of the water on our side.”

Increased temperatures

Rapid algae growth