After a week of water shortages, the water supply at one of Durban’s largest provincial hospitals, Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in uMlazi, has finally been restored. The eThekwini Municipality confirmed on Thursday that the hospital, which had been struggling with water access, is now fully operational in terms of its water supply.
City spokesperson Gugu Sisilana shared that municipal teams had been working relentlessly to resolve the issue. Their efforts focused on improving storage capacity and ensuring better water flow to the hospital. They also investigated and addressed blockages in the meter and feeding pipelines to prevent any further interruptions. In the meantime, the municipality had been delivering water to the hospital via tankers to ensure there was no disruption to medical care.
The City is aware of the growing water demand in the area, particularly in the South, where the problem has been exacerbated by the summer season. This surge in demand, coupled with low water pressure, had affected critical points of the water supply system, leading to outages. Sisilana assured that the City is taking steps to manage and reduce this demand, ensuring that water supply to vital services like hospitals remains stable.
Earlier this week, KwaZulu-Natal’s Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, along with senior department officials, visited the hospital to assess the situation. After a high-level meeting, it was agreed that the municipality would continue supplying water with tankers while the system’s pressure gradually returned to normal levels. Meanwhile, the Health Department had already implemented contingency measures to ensure patient care, hygiene, and staff welfare were prioritized during the disruption. Water tankers were deployed across the province to make sure that all health facilities had a steady supply.
Despite concerns raised about safety and hygiene during the shortage, MEC Simelane firmly rejected claims that the situation had put the hospital in danger. A report from the hospital’s CEO confirmed that no health or safety measures had been compromised during the crisis. The hospital continues to function as usual, thanks to the dedicated efforts of both the municipality and the health department.
