The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality needs to urgently maintain its crumbling stormwater drainage system as recent heavy downpours have exposed how ill-equipped infrastructure against possible heavy floods is.
The situation has been exacerbated by years of failure by the municipality to monitor and maintain regularly the metropole’s drainage network, which is currently clogged with foreign objects despite numerous calls from various stakeholders across the metropole to address this as a matter of urgency.
The matter was also highlighted by Dr Andrew Muir, the leader of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s recently established Eastern Cape Climate Change Coalition, in his rapid assessment of how climate change will impact Nelson Mandela Bay.
The study provides an outlook from 2021-2040, and highlights the impact that extreme storm surges, rising sea levels and temperature increases will have on the metropole.
The predicted storm surges, which are likely to follow the current drought, are set to cause severe damage to key infrastructure such as roads and buildings, and communities living in low lying areas will be particularly vulnerable.
“Think back to the destruction of the KwaZulu-Natal floods in April, in which almost 500 people died, 4 000 homes were destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were left destitute. In the aftermath analysis of why that flooding was so severe, the stormwater drainage system has been identified as a major culprit, insufficient to cope with Durban’s growing population and inadequately maintained drainage system,” said Dr Muir.
“Priority should be placed on protecting lives and as such homes should not be allowed to be built in flood plains and at-risk low-lying areas. Also, disaster management capabilities need to be reinstated in the metropole to ensure that early warning systems and other key measures are in place.”
Dr Muir further highlighted that proactive planning should also include land-use planning such as restricting future developments in areas that are at high risk of flooding or stormwater surges. Furthermore, buffer zones should be created while strict measures should be enforced for all new buildings to have rainwater harvesting systems and water saving toilets, taps and shower heads.
In addition recycling and the use of grey water, especially for industrial and business purposes, should be accelerated.
