KZN floods: DWS on current interventions, findings and actions taken; with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson opened the virtual meeting, greeting all the Members, support staff, and the delegates from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).

He acknowledged that a lot had happened during the recess. Famiy, friends and some Members of Parliament have been lost. He passed his condolences to those who have lost close friends and family members and asked for a moment of silence for prayer or meditation.

He then asked Ms Nosipho Bavuma, the Committee Secretary, to present the agenda and announce the apologies.

Apologies
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr Senzo Mchunu, could not attend the meeting because he was attending a strategic workshop in Qqeberha.

The Deputy Minister, Mr David Mahlobo, was attending virtually from an oversight visit in Limpopo. He asked to leave the meeting early.

Mr G Hendricks (Al Jama-Ah) reported that he was in another meeting. He would join this meeting thereafter.

The Chairperson asked (assuming that Mr Mahlobo was present) what leaving the meeting early implies.

The Committee Secretary said that Mr Mahlobo was not in the virtual meeting, but her understanding is that he would join for a few minutes and then leave the meeting.

The Chairperson said that, to his understanding, virtual meetings are meant for people to attend wherever they are. He acknowledged that network connectivity issues could get in the way of that if someone is doing an oversight at remote villages.

Opening Remarks by the Deputy Minister

Ms Dikeledi Magadzi, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, thanked the Committee for the opportunity, and greeted all the attendees. She confirmed that the Minister and Deputy Minister were on oversight, as an indication of taking water matters seriously.

She moved to wish women in the platform, and women in the Republic of South Africa, a happy Women’s Month. Women in South Africa are resilient. When talking about matters of water and sanitation, there are still women who still go to the rivers to fetch water for household chores, while others use the bushes for sanitary purposes. As government is turning the economy around, there must be opportunities for women. Women must not be forgotten for their contribution to paving the way for the country.

The KZN storm has left KZN women struggling in community halls while others struggle to get water. The challenges of the wastewater treatment plants have contributed to the water shortage. The Department is busy with reconstructions to bring stability to KZN. South Africa is facing climate change. In some regions, there are droughts while others face floods. There must be unity and a formation of solutions for how to deal with these challenges. South Africans need to be educated more about climate change so that they can be able to mitigate the outcomes of climate change. Much work has been done to improve the infrastructure in KZN and throughout the country. It is important to deliver satisfactory services to the people of South Africa.,

The Chairperson apologised that he overlooked the fact that August is Women’s month. He wished a happy women’s month to all women. On Tuesday, 23 August 2022, South Africans woke up to the saddening news that former Member of Parliament, Vytjie Mentor, passed away. She was also a former ANC member, and Action SA has suffered a loss.

DWS Briefing: Progress Update on the KwaZulu-Natal Storm Damage and Key Interventions

Ms Angela Masefield, DWS KZN Regional Office Director: Regulation, began the presentation by giving the contents of the presentation, including: water and sanitation services status, disaster management funding applications, conclusions and recommendations. The presentation focused more on eThekwini, which was the most affected region.

Raw Water Supply to Durban Heights

Large parts of eThekwini were affected by the reduced and available water supply, caused by aqueducts one and two being washed away on 12 April 2022. These aqueducts supply water from Nagle Dam to Durban Heights Water Treatment Works. This is an infrastructure owned by Umgeni Water.

Raw water to Durban Heights was 250 megalitres a day from 600 megalitres a day.

The second major impact was the washaway of Tongaat Water Treatment Work, which is owned and operated by eThekwini Municipality.

An alternative source of water supply was implemented - the Inanda Dam pump system. Two pumps were available from this treatment plant, and there was a deficit of 70 megalitres a day.

The third pump was brought online on 24 July 2022. This increased the supply and reduced the deficit to 20 megalitres a day. Another pump has been bought online and should be available in two weeks’ time. The fifth pump will be bought soon to ensure that the full restoration of water supply.

Aqueducts three and four are operational. A five-day shut was implemented on aqueduct three to repair a leak. The repair on aqueduct three was completed in early July. This has enabled an increased supply of raw water to the treatment plant.

Raw water supply with three pumps working delivers 550 megalitres; this is still short of the 600 megalitres per day that was supplied before the floods.

Overview of the extent of water supply restored & temporary repairs as of 14 August 2022

Inner West Region

The supply of water to this region has improved from 30% to 80%. The temporary and consequential repairs of storm damages are 90% complete.

Outer West Region

The water supply to this region has improved from 45% to 80%, and the repairs are 100% complete.

Central Region

The water supply to this region has improved from 45% to 70%, and the repairs are 100% complete.

South Region

The supply of water to this region has improved from 15% to 85%. The storm damages temporary and consequential repairs are 100% complete.

North Region

The supply to this region has improved from 40% to 60%. The storm damages and consequential repairs are at 85% complete.

The reason for not reaching 100% water supply is because of the damage to Nagle Dam to Durban Heights.

Restoration of Tongaat Water Plant

There is still a shortage of water supply because of infrastructure damage. The Tongaat Water Treatment Plant has a capacity of 21 megalitres per day. Before the floods, this treatment plant produced 16 megalitres per day and supplied the Tongaat area. There was extensive damage, with access road and raw water pump line being washed away. The treatment plant was therefore severely damaged. Interim water supply mechanisms have been put in place; this includes 20 water tankers. There are static tanks where the communities can fetch clean water. There have been several boreholes drilled in the area. Boreholes and package plants do not provide quality drinking water, but the water can still be used for other purposes.

Residents in the South of Tongaat have water supply for about four hours a day through an emergency pump line installed from other areas. The access road and raw water pump line were reinstated on 15 June 2022 by Tongaat Hullet. The eThekwini Municipality appointed a contractor on 07 July 2022. The contractor was established on site, on 13 July 2022. The canal headworks base has been poured, and there are props in place for jacking. There is a stabilisation of the chemical room, which is currently underway. The clear water reservoir is being cleared and cleaned. The motors, pumps and valves have been removed for refurbishment or replacement as needed. The completion date has been scheduled for the beginning of October 2022.

The rest of the presentation discussed eThekwini Sanitation, including beach water quality after the floods. A considerable number of beaches are still closed for swimming but open for religious and spiritual rituals, dog walking and fishing. The presentation also showed the amounts required for total repairs (water and sewer infrastructure) in eThekwini, iLembe, King Cetshwayo, uMhlathuze, Msunduzi, uGu, uMgungundlovu, uThukela, Amajuba, uMzinyathi, Zululand, and uMkhanyakude.

Disaster Funding

DWS funded water tankers to support eThekwini, uGu, and iLembe for three months. There was R65 million reprioritised from the Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Grant funding. The money has been reprioritised, with approval from National Treasury. There were 82 tankers bought with that money.

The DWS has not been able to provide funds to eThekwini due to the current grant frameworks.

Water services authorities infrastructure damage was consolidated, and a funding application for national disaster management funding was submitted to the National Disaster Management Center and National Treasury on 03 May 2022. The funding application included costs of replacement with infrastructure as it was, and the costs of building back better and upgraded infrastructure to meet the needs.

MIG (Municipality Infrastructure Grant) and WSIG (Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Grant) grant reprioritisation have been approved with:

-King Cetshwayo (R13.2 million MIG and R6.7 million WSIG)

-Zululand District Municipality (R25 million WSIG)

-uThukela District Municipality (R15.3 million MIG)

Disaster funding was approved for Msunduzi (R0.691 million) and iLembe (R19.5 million).

The eThekwini disaster funding recommendation of R182 million is pending approval from National Treasury. In the interim, eThekwini has reprioritised its own internal budgets to respond to the most critical and urgent storm damages to restore critical services and infrastructure. The disaster funding amount estimated is R1 025 831 924.

Conclusions and recommendations

-Most water services have been restored

-Sanitation services restoration behind

-Some improvements in beach water quality

-Significant delays with (eThekwini) insurance claims: assessments may take 12 to 18 months

-Alternative processes need to be developed for assets covered by insurance

-DWS to support CoGTA in operationalising war rooms for each WSA

-Ongoing monitoring of restoration by DWS and CoGTA through the war room

Ms Masefield thanked the opportunity to present to the Portfolio Committee.

[See presentation document for more details]

Additional input by DWS Director-General

Dr Sean Phillips intervened to elaborate on a few things. The Minister and relevant municipalities facilitated a process to create a war room. It coordinates the efforts of the different municipalities, Umgeni Water and the DWS to ensure that there are no duplications and that things are synchronised.

It also reviews progress, and it is chaired by the Head of Water and Sanitation in eThekwini. It is a coordination body that only focuses on water and sanitation. Separate intergovernmental structures are dealing with issues like housing and human settlements issues; those are being coordinated by the National Department of Human Settlements and COGTA, together with the municipalities.

The role that DWS plays in the floods in KZN is quite different from that in other places where they are doing formal interventions on their own or with COGTA. An example of such is in Nelson Mandela Bay, where the Department has a formal intervention, and is jointly managing with Nelson Mandela.

The eThekwini is self-managing the issue of floods with intervention from the DWS.

The largest damage of floods is in eThekwini. The grants that DWS manages for WSIG are not allowed to be used for metro municipalities. The funding for infrastructure damage for metro municipalities is funded through the Department of Human Settlements, under thhhe Urban Settlement Development Grant.

Deputy Minister Magadzi thanked the Chairperson for the opportunity, and said that the presentation covered a lot. As the DWS, they were awaiting deliberations from the Committee Members.

Discussion
The Chairperson said that the non-responsive of the Committee, or the non-effectiveness in responding to the disaster, is a call for concern. There was a report from the Daily Maverick about a woman that passed away because of flood damages. While there is a link, no scientific evidence points to the neglect by the Department or government. However, the reality is that people who are sleeping in halls are still without accommodation.

The fact that the DWS has not taken over eThekwini, as indicated by Dr Phillips, is problematic. Society does not care much about that and wants to see government working. The people expect DWS to intervene. However, provincial government is a sphere of its own separate from national government, but people do not understand that.

Mr A Tseki (ANC) asked about a slide that talks about 40% to 70%, or from a certain percentage to another percentage. On the progress with the regions, could one tell what the percentage was prior to the floods? This will assist in assessing whether the DWS has made satisfactory progress or surpassed the previous water supply to the regions.

Ms G Tseke (ANC) appreciated the presentation. She spoke about the joint ad hoc committee that is being established by Parliament, which consists of Members from both Houses of Parliament to deal with matters related to the floods. The ad hoc committee will conduct oversight visits. The Portfolio Committee should interact with this ad hoc committee.

Secondly, she noted that, for the last three months, the affected municipalities have used R65 million. That is a lot of money. How will the DWS sustain this? The presentation said that Umgeni is using internal funds, and they are waiting for insurance to pay the claim. What is going to happen to their restoration programme?

There is a slide that speaks about the sanitation programme, which is moving at a slow pace. What are the challenges? Why is the programme moving at a slow pace? Can the Department elaborate on that?

Ms R Mohlala (EFF) said that the neglect of maintenance and refurbishment of water infrastructure and government’s failure to plan or prepare for disasters is evident in the impact and outcome of the flood disasters in the Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

Water services authorities, charged with spending regional bulk and water services infrastructure grants, need to begin reprioritising their funding mechanism and their annual performance plans. What assistance has DWS provided to Water Services Authority to ensure reprioritisation? How effective has this been?

Why was no action taken about the massive non-revenue or non-payment of water in eThekwini when the deputy ministers in the Department had known about this problem for at least five years? Who is monitoring the source and quality of water delivered by water tankers?

The level of e.coli in water sources is quite high. However, it appears as if communities are receiving mixed communication about the use of water from taps. Who is in charge of public awareness of water quality?

COGTA is assisting with prioritising budget. What is the role of the Department in assisting water services authorities and reprioritising the water services and infrastructure grant? Who is monitoring this, and what are some of the challenges noted by the Department?

The spending of disaster grants was not recorded properly concerning the prescripts of classification. This was reflected in the R228 000 to R28 million municipal disaster response grant, and the R723 1000 relating to Vote for 41 of Water and Sanitation. Once again, who, within the Department, is monitoring the amounts dispensed in terms of Vote 41 to the municipalities?

Lastly, rebuilding infrastructure to consider the impact of the disaster on water and sanitation infrastructure is a new priority. How will the future of infrastructure development ensure sustainability of water and sanitation infrastructure? What lesson can one take away from other countries impacted by major catastrophes or disasters? How many engineers are currently available in KZN to assist with reconstruction efforts? Who that be enough?

The Chairperson had a few additions to the questions. He noted that the presentation said that there was a reduced supply of water to the communities, from 600 megalitres to 250 megalitres. How has that affected the communities? What led to the instigation between ward eight and ward nine? What effect did it have on the turnaround time? He asked the Department to specifically address the point of not taking over parts of KZN. Can the DWS intervention, as it stands, be sufficient in assisting KwaZulu-Natal?

DWS responses

Ms Masefield answered a question about the supply levels to the region. She did not have the actual figures of water supply prior to the floods. However, the supply levels were not operating at 100% in all areas. There were areas that were still suffering due to the refurbishment of a reservoir that she mentioned during the presentation. The exact figures of water supply levels can be sourced and then reported back to the Committee.

The community disputes between wards eight and nine were around allocating work packages and labour related to the aqueduct contract. That has been resolved.

The impact of reduced water to 250 megalitres per day was severe as large portions of the city were without water; this only lasted a few days. There was an alternative supply of raw water, but those supplies did not reach the full 600 megalitres before floods. There was a deficit of 70 megalitres and additional pumps were commissioned to assist with the shortfall.  

The effect led to water tankers being brought in as an alternative source of water.

Dr Phillips said there are two providers of water in area; Umgeni Water is one of them. It supplies bulk water to eThekwini and other municipalities in the area.

DWS worked with Umgeni very quickly to put in temporary measures such as pumps that Ms Masefield presented. This was to enable bulk water restoration. However, this cannot be restored to its original state until the repairs are done. As per the presentation, work is currently underway to do the permanent repairs to these aqueducts that supply the bulk water. It is major construction work to replace these damaged aqueducts.

The drop in terms of supply of bulk water to eThekwini – from 600 to 250Ml/per day – took place around April 2022. Some communities were without water altogether. That probed the urgent requests from the municipalities, seeking assistance in terms of additional water. The only way to provide additional water to communities was through tankering.

That brought back the bulk water supply to a substantial level. Water supply will only get back to 600 megalitres once the permanent repairs are completed.

The R65 million was not spent by all the municipalities; it is the money that was supplied by the DWS – with approval from National Treasury – to assist with additional water through procurement of water tankers. eThekwini has its own tankers. Together with COGTA, the council also hired additional tankers. The extent of the damage to eThekwini was so extensive that additional water was needed for communities with no water. The R65 million was for the tankers DWS hired. This will not be done in perpetuity. The DWS will gradually cease water tankers as the water restorations are underway. Some tankers will be retained for a few more months, as eThekwini has indicated it still needs assistance with supplying additional water. Once the water supply has been increased, the DWS will stop supplying water tankers.

Umgeni Water (an entity of DWS) has been using its internal funds because eThekwini has a healthy financial situation. It has taken a decision not to wait for insurance to pay out. It has proceeded with repair work. It will get the money back once the insurance pays.

The challenge is that eThekwini has not been able to do it to the extent of Umgeni Water. The fact that eThekwini had its water and sanitation infrastructure insured has delayed the reconstruction process. To some extent, eThekwini has been constrained by the insurance claim that is taking too long to pay out. The disaster funding is also delayed while the insurance determines what it will pay for the damages. This is an issue that government needs to look at in the future [insurance for municipal infrastructure]. Their disaster funding from national government could be used as bridging finance. There must be bridging finance allocated to municipalities so they can proceed while waiting for the insurance to pay out.

There has been neglect of refurbishment and maintenance by municipalities across the country. DWS is constantly engaging with municipalities to encourage them to pay sufficient attention to maintenance and proper operation of water and sanitation infrastructure.

As shown in the presentation, a number of non-metro municipalities have been receiving intervention from DWS regarding reprioritising grants. The assistance provided by DWS includes quantifying the damage, cost estimations of the damage and application of reprioritising grants. This has escalated repair work. The DWS will continue to monitor the expenditure of the reprioritised funds.

Dr Phillips could not provide the exact number of engineers currently on site from the top of his head, but said several engineers from the Head Office were sent to eThekwini. They were tasked as means to support eThekwini. The engineers assisted with producing the estimated cost of the damage. Within less than a month, the actual cost was determined.

DWS is participating strongly in the KZN war room, and the engineers have been at the disposal of eThekwini. Further, the DWS has enabled municipalities in KZN to reprioritise their budgets. DWS has deployed engineers to eThekwini and has been hands-on when it comes to communicating with citizens about what is happening, and when water supply is likely to come back on stream.

Ms Masefield answered a question about the monitoring of water that is being supplied through water tankers. She said that there is monitoring that is taking place. eThekwini provides reports and the DWS oversee any queries that are obtained or complaints. There were some issues identified earlier on after the flood, where one of the filling points was not providing water of inadequate quality and that filling point was then closed. Monitoring is taking place, and reports are sent to the war room on regular basis.

The Chairperson asked if the Members had any follow-up questions. In the absence of hands, he asked if that implied that the Committee Members were satisfied.

Ms Tseke said that she was satisfied, but one question was not answered – about the number of engineers deployed to KwaZulu-Natal.

Dr Phillips asked Ms Masefield to respond.

Ms Masefield said on the Easter Weekend, DWS sent a multidisciplinary team of about 20 engineers to assist the eThekwini region. Over 200 engineers and technical staff came from eThekwini municipality. There is an engineer that is currently full-time at the Tongaat project. Through the COGTA, engineers were deployed, not limited to the water infrastructure but looking at all infrastructure.

The Chairperson asked what the plan was. Does DWS intend to take over eThekwini?

Dr Phillips said that   DWS is monitoring the satisfactory progress happening in eThekwini, but it is slow because of insurance. eThekwini is financially constrained and cannot reprioritise its budget. The matter has been taken up with National Treasury. Despite eThekwini being financially constrained, there was under expenditure in the previous fiscal year. This puts the city in a difficult position to argue, as there is underspending on some of its budgets on its budget year.

The Chairperson noted that Ms Tseke mentioned the ad hoc committee of which he was also a Member. The ad hoc committee received a report from eThekwini that is somehow cumbersome.

Dr Phillips confirmed that eThekwini has been reporting. A report to the ad hoc committee, on what it has been observed, will soon be given to the Portfolio Committee, along with some recommendations.

The Chairperson thanked DWS and its delegates for briefing the Committee.

Committee Programme

Members adopted their programme for the third term.

Ms Tseke said that she does not think that DWS is ready in terms of the three pieces of legislation mentioned in the programme – which include the National Water Act, Water Services Act, and Water Research Act. The Bill is still with the State Law Advisor as per last communication.

The Chairperson noted the concern from Ms Tseke.

He congratulated Ms C Seoposengwe [former Member of the Committee] on her appointment as High Commissioner to Lesotho.

Committee minutes

The Committee considered and adopted its minutes dated 24 and 31 May and 7 June 2022.

Closing remarks

The Chairperson acknowledged his mistake when he failed to speak about the petition from the Nandoni Community while the Department was still present in the meeting. The petition has been referred to the Committee by the Speaker. The Speaker has instructed the Committee to respond to the petition. However, the communication was sent to the Department of Water and Sanitation. The petition was sent to the Department of Water and Sanitation, Human Settlements and COGTA. There will be a joint meeting on the Nandoni petition by the affected portfolio committees. The meeting must take place in Johannesburg. An agreement between DWS and the Department of Human Settlements is yet to be confirmed.

Ms Bavuma [Committee Secretary] will confirm the date and time.

Ms Tseke suggested  Ms Bavuma circulate the petition to the Members so they can be abreast of what is happening.

The meeting was adjourned.