A PIPELINE that was nearly six decades old, is currently being replaced in Joe Slovo, Nelson Mandela Bay, to ensure an uninterrupted water supply to the western areas of the metro.
These areas have been experiencing regular water disruptions over an extended period of time and, as a result, the Motherwell-Chelsea 500mm pipeline is finally getting a much-needed upgrade.
During a recent oversight visit to the construction site, Nelson Mandela Bay acting mayor, Tshonono Buyeye, said that they had been receiving a lot of complaints about regular water disruptions on one side of the metro.
“It’s been a concern for us and we knew that we needed to find ways of addressing this issue because we can’t inconvenience a particular area in our metro on a weekly basis. We understand that this is not an easy task but would love for it to be done speedily so that we have a sustainable solution for the matter.”
The metro’s director of water and sanitation, Barry Martin, said that the pipeline had corroded over time and was taken out of commission with the intention of rehabilitating it in future.
“As a result of the drought we are in, we need the extra capacity of this pipe in order to transfer more water from the Nooitgedacht Low Level Water Scheme through to the Greenbushes area into the western side of the metro.
“With Nooitdgedacht running with the treatment facility, we are able to treat as much as 180 to 190 Megalitres a day, but because of the bottleneck of the pipeline that is not fully functional, we can only transfer about 160 to 170 Megalitres,” Martin said.
“We have identified the weakest part on this pipe and are planning to bring in our teams and do all extra repairs.
“Hopefully by the end of August we will have this fully commissioned,” he added.
Buyeye once again urged residents to save and use water sparingly as the metro is still battling a drought.
“Our dam levels are very low and the rain is not coming. We need to use what we have, cautiously being aware of the fact that this is all we have.”
He added that maximising the Nooitdgedacht supply is a good move and that the metro will also find a solution to the water crisis in KwaNobuhle.
“There can’t be anyone who can’t access water, especially during this time of COVID-19. Delivering basic services to residents is key and it is something we will continue to focus on.”
