“We are in a deep crisis.”
These were the words of MMC for infrastructure and engineering in the metro, Masixole Zinto, on a recent visit to the Kouga Dam.
According to projections, the dam that currently stands at a level just above 5% could run dry by the end of July this year.
“Kouga Dam is the biggest dam in Nelson Mandela Bay and the biggest supplier of water into our city; now it is at this level. This (visit) is part of the awareness campaign to make sure that our community understands exactly what the situation is that we find ourselves in.
“We are in a deep crisis, we are in a drought and that means disaster,” he emphasised.
Acting executive director for infrastructure and engineering, Joseph Tsatsire, painted a grim picture regarding the current dam level status.
“Currently, the dam is sitting at 5.5% and it is almost dry, as we can see. We expect that, if we don’t get inflows into the dam, it’s going to run dry by the end of July 2021.”
He added that the metro is currently deploying other measures to mitigate the drought and this includes installing water tanks in the communities that will be directly affected, especially KwaNobuhle.
“We have identified areas where we will be putting up tanks and filling them for the community to continue to have basic consumption,” Tsatsire said.
According to a presentation made by the infrastructure and engineering directorate during the visit, both the Kouga and Churchill Dams will reach their dead storage limits in June 2021, meaning that from this point onwards no supply will be forthcoming from these two sources.
The metro has, however, prepared and maintained a drought intervention implementation plan and some of the projects being pursued include among others: the Nooitgedacht phase three and Grassridge Temporary Treatment Works and the Groundwater-Coegakop Wellfield, currently under construction.
According to the directorate, making an alternative source of water available for KwaNobuhle is essential, as it receives water from the Loerie Water Treatment Works, which is, in turn, supplied by the Kouga Dam, expected to run dry soon.
In order to convey the required water from Nooitgedacht, identified as the most viable source, through to KwaNobuhle, the supply pump station located at the Chelsea reservoir is being upgraded in order to divert Nooitgedacht water back through the Summit-Chelsea pipeline and into KwaNobuhle Reservoir 4, for when the Loerie Treatment Works is no longer in operation. Residents were, once again, urged to use water sparingly.
