The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s water augmentation implementation plan is in full swing and one of its medium-term interventions, to install the Bloemendal to KwaNobuhle Pipeline, has recently commenced.
The link bulk pipeline from the Bloemendal reservoir, which is supplied by the Nooitgedacht water line, through the Jachtvlakte to KwaNobuhle, will guarantee that approximately 10 megalitres of water from the Nooitgedacht water line will be pushed through to KwaNobuhle and surrounding areas every day.
According to municipal spokesperson, Mthubanzi Mniki, under the current circumstances, where the levels of the metro’s main supply dams are just over 12 percent, this project will be critical in saving the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro from running dry.
KwaNobuhle is one of the areas expected to start experiencing dry taps by July this year, should no significant rain fall in the metro’s catchment areas on the interim.
“However, the project will not necessarily prevent KwaNobuhle from running dry by July and the accelerated implementation plan has a target of December 2021,” Mniki explained.
He added that this R24 million construction project will include large-scale pipe rehabilitation and the replacement of both the 300mm and 315mm pipelines that link the Scheepershoogte Reservoir with the KwaNobuhle Reservoir.
“The work will also include the opening of valves and the installation of a water meter to determine the maximum flow from the Scheepershoogte Reservoir into KwaNobuhle.
Another facet of the work will be the rehabilitation of the KwaNobuhle pump station to enable it to pump water to the KwaNobuhle Reservoir and ultimately into the Kwanobuhle zone,” he added.
MMC for Infrastructure and Engineering in the metro, Masixole Zinto, said that this project is part of the medium-term plans in terms of the metro’s Water Master Plan.
“We have the major advantage that the water coming from the Nooitgedacht waterline comes from the Gariep Dam in the Free State, which is not currently affected by a drought. “The completion of this pipeline installation will go a long way towards mitigating the impact of the drought in the Uitenhage (Kariega) area and the Western areas of Nelson Mandela Bay,” he said.
Zinto added that the longer term vision was to make Nelson Mandela Bay a drought-resilient metro. “If we are serious about our growth as a city and placing ourselves among the major economic hubs of the country, water security becomes critical.”
Zinto said that he would be visiting the site soon to monitor progress and make the team on site understand the significance of the work that they are doing in saving the metro’s economy.
Long-term interventions to curb the drought in Nelson Mandela Bay include the Coegakop Water Treatment Works, boreholes and the desalination of sea water.
Construction of these projects is scheduled to commence in either this month or next month and will take about a year to complete.
