Dry taps continue: Southbroom residents left without water for weeks

Residents across Southbroom and surrounding areas on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast say prolonged water outages have left them without a basic service for weeks at a time, forcing households to incur significant personal costs and fundamentally change how they access water.

The affected areas fall under the jurisdiction of Ugu District Municipality, the designated Water Services Authority.

Adriaan Henn, a pensioner living at in Southbroom, said: “We have now been without water for 22 days and counting.” He explained that many residents simply cannot afford alternatives.

“We cannot afford to pay for private contractors that deliver water,” he said, describing tanker prices as “exorbitant, unreasonably, excessively, or unfairly high, and going far beyond what's considered reasonable or expected.”

“I hereby wish to express my shock and dissatisfaction with costs we have to incur towards a basic right,” Henn added. He believes the situation is being exploited: “I am of the opinion that the exploitative and exorbitant charges are the result of Ugu not delivering water and private contractors who see the gap and take advantage of us.” He said the issue “needs to be addressed as a matter of the highest priority.”

Another resident from Captain Smith Road, who did not want to be named, said the last water supply was received before Christmas.

“Last time we received water was before Christmas. Can’t remember the exact date,” the resident said. While a 10,000-litre JoJo tank has delayed the need to buy water, “the tank is right at the bottom now.”

“I have received one reference number from Ugu for the complaint although I have quite often had my calls closed without receiving water so it means very little to me.”

Resident, Jeanne Michau described recurring outages over an extended period. “Over the last 6 months, there have been regular periods where we have not received water for 2/3 weeks,” she said. “This peaked over the festive season in December with the influx of visitors.”

She outlined the practical consequences: “No water means no flushing of loos (have to use standby bottles), washing clothes/dishes etc. Plants in pots have died.”

Even with storage, she said, “I have 2 x 5000l tanks which don't last long with families.”

Michau also raised billing and communication concerns. “It is difficult to speak to anyone at the municipality. There is no response when we do get acknowledgement,” she said. She added: “Ugu meters are never read… The estimates are far higher than consumption.”

Off the grid

Long-term reliability concerns were echoed by resident Dean Lieberum, who said: “For more than six years, residents like myself have endured persistent and worsening failures in the provision of municipal water by Ugu District Municipality.”

He added that Southbroom “regularly goes without municipal water for weeks at a time, and in some instances for extended periods lasting months.”

As a result, he has installed extensive private infrastructure.

“This includes the installation of five 5,000-litre water storage tanks,” as well as “industrial-grade filtration systems with UV sterilisation.” Despite this, he said, “I continue to receive municipal water bills and pay the associated charges,” even “during periods when no water is delivered at all.”

Sue Hatfield said she has stopped relying on municipal supply altogether. “I have been forced to alter my gutters and downpipes and purchase a 10,000 l tank, plus a pump and filter, in order to collect rainwater,” she said. “I am very pleased to have a consistent and adequate supply of water. Something I haven't had with Ugu for about 6 years!”

She said she was “often without any water for 3 to 4 months at any one time,” adding: “The longest period that I had water from Ugu was maybe 2 days.”

After stopping payment two years ago, “Ugu terminated my supply,” she said.

Despite this, Hatfield claims she is still billed.

Wider infrastructure failures

The localised impact in Southbroom forms part of a broader regional water crisis linked to electricity supply constraints at the Umtamvuna Water Treatment Plant. In a statement issued by the Democratic Alliance’s Ray Nkonyeni councilor Stephanie Breedt,  noted that approximately 190,000 residents in the Ray Nkonyeni area are affected by unreliable water supply despite sufficient raw water being available.

Breedt attributes the problem to “the failure of Ugu District Municipality and Eskom to provide adequate and stable electricity to power pumps and treatment infrastructure.”

She states that a promised permanent solution, a new electricity connection from the Eastern Cape, was partially constructed but never completed, despite R14 million having been spent.

According to Breedt, unstable electricity caused the plant to drop from three pumps to one in December 2025, leaving “Port Edward and Banners Rest… without water for 14 days,” and “Leisure Bay and surrounding areas… without water for 12 days.” It further notes that “Eskom has been aware of this problem since 2017.”

Ugu District Municipality and Eskom had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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