​Ugu District Municipality is faced with an uphill battle of coming up with stringent plans in an effort to maximise community compliance in water conservation and at the same time, mitigate ‘Day Zero’ which is upon us.Of the four local municipalities under Ugu, Umuziwabantu is the most affected area with very little or no rainfall recorded to shift the current severe drought situation from its worst state. Harding Treatment Works is no longer able to abstract water Harding Dam. The Treatment Works has shut off, forcing us to use the Weza Treatment Works Emergency pipeline as an alternative to supply Ward 3.The drought has been ongoing since 2015 and the municipality has instituted various measures to sustain water supply for both the business sector and domestic, including critical entities such as St Andrews hospital. Some of the plans undertaken by Ugu include the installation of 7 Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs) in strategic areas of Ward 3. These are ably maintained by appointed service providers.The municipality has also taken a stance to implement stringent water restrictions to all Ward 3 households to ensure prudent use of water. And while the installation of domestic restrictors were ongoing, the municipality under the umbrella of drought alert, further assisted the community by repairing all internal leaks in the vicinity of Ward 3. We further request that residents continue reporting should they encounter any water losses. All these initiatives have greatly improved supply and an appeal is hereby made to residents to significantly adjust their water consumption patterns for enough supply to all.Ugu have since developed a water shedding time table and installed 24 storage tanks in strategic areas of domestic residence. Sadly, only 5 of those tanks are still available as the rest were either stolen or vandalised. The municipality considers water as life and have since committed to add 5 more tanks. And in instances where there is no water at all, communities will receive water through tankering as a relief measure. The current water shedding time table is as follows:Below is the reviewed Water Shedding Timetable:Harding Town: Ward 3DaysTime: Open / CloseAreasMon, ThursOpen 7am… Close 3pmBusiness Sector and domestic household in town​Open 6am… Close 7amDomestic household – Greenfield, Ghost Town, MazakheleSatOpen 7am… Close 6pmBoth business sector and domestic householdMon – SunOpen 6pm… Close 7amSt Andrews hospitalMachi Area: Ward 4, 5, 6, 10 and Ray Nkonyeni Ward 35 and 36DaysTime: Open / CloseAreasMon – SunClose 7pmClose isolating valve, next to Nqabeni butchery (to feed partially Ward 5 and 36 RNM and build up Elim reservoir storage)Mon – SunOpen 8:30amOpen isolating line valve, next to Nqabeni butchery (to supply downstream Ward 35 and partially Ward 36)Mon – SunClose 8amClose off Elim reservoir inlet to supply Ward 4, 5, 6 and 10Ugu District Municipality would like to urge all members of the community to heed the call of safeguarding each and every drop of water available and also forward all water and sanitation related queries, leaks and burst pipes and illegal connections to their ward councillors or call 0800 WATER (92837) or SMS 44751. You can also become a member of our FaceBook page: “Ugu District Municipality” and receive continuous and factual updates.ISSUED BY:UGU DISTRICT MUNICIPALITYFor more information and media queries contact:Senior Manager: Mayoralty and CommunicationsMr France ZamaFrance.Zama@ugu.websitesupport.co.za