NELSON Mandela Bay residents are still using too much water.
This came to light during a metro council meeting held recently.
Instead of adhering to the municipality’s restrictions of 50L a day per person, the average monthly consumption is currently between 290 to 300 mega-litres a day. The municipality’s target is that residents should stick to a monthly average of less than 250 mega-litres a day.
The metro’s executive director of infrastructure and engineering, Walter Shaidi, expressed his concern during a slideshow presentation on Thursday, February 27, that displayed the Bay’s dire water situation.
Below average rainfall
Shaidi said that there had been prolonged below average rainfall in the catchment areas and that two canal breaks supplying water to the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works add to the water shortage. He mentioned that it had been three years since the Kouga and Impofu Dams have been full. The Kouga Dam currently stands at 16,98% and the Impofu at 16.62%. This brings the combined average dam levels to 25.83%, as of mid-March.
Water leaks and other challenges
The NMBM also faces other challenges: vandalism and theft at water installations, staff shortages, contractors that are not yet appointed and a delay in canal repairs near Kirkwood also puts a spanner in the works.
According to Shaidi, a number of drought interventions will be taking place over the next few months and water leak repairs are at the top of the list for short term interventions. “We will be making maximum use of the municipality’s maintenance teams. There will be a recruitment of additional plumbers and appointment of external contractors in March,” Shaidi said.
A barge at Impofu Dam
Other short term interventions, that will be implemented over the next three to six months, include accessing the dead storage at the Impofu Dam by procuring a barge. “The pumps, motors and electrical cabling for the barge are complete and the planned completion period is six weeks, thus at the end of April this year,” he added.
Long term interventions include the desalination of seawater and exploring partnerships with other countries.
Additional water from the Gariep Dam
Meanwhile, NMBM spokesperson, Mthubanzi Mniki, said that the efforts made by the municipality to augment its water supply were starting to bear fruit.
A request to the Department of Water and Sanitation to access additional water from the Gariep Dam had been successful and plans are already underway to get the additional water.
“Due to the delays in the completion of the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works phase three, the municipality has decided to temporarily convert and commission the Grassridge Reservoir into a temporary emergency treatment facility. This facility will subsequently treat the additional raw water that will be received from the Gariep Dam to an acceptable quality for human consumption,” Mniki said.
“Consumers are requested to note that the clarity and colour of the water will not be of the standard that they may be accustomed to, but that it will still be completely safe for human consumption,” he emphasised.
“This is one of the key short term interventions implemented to make up the supply deficit experienced in the metro.
“The NMBM again appeals to every resident for full cooperation in stretching the little water that we have left and to be mindful of the fact that the water crisis in the metro is now critical.”
