Pixabay (stock image)
Residents in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) face an uncertain water future as the region has been severely affected by the ongoing drought with some areas expected to run dry as soon as July.
The Municipality said in a statement on Wednesday that its storage dams supplying the metro were at an all-time low.
With average combined dam levels were down to 12.9% in the past 48 hours, continuing high domestic consumption and uncertainty about whether the average predicted rainfall will materialise, the Metro is facing an urgent crisis.
According to the NMBM, if consumption is not cut to 250 megalitres per day, areas such as KwaNobuhle and St. Albans will be without water as soon as July!
Other areas are expected to soon follow in August and September.
"We confirm that as from July 2021, the most significant impact will be the whole of Kwanobuhle, will not have water. Then at the end of August the Churchill/Impofu system will be affected and then at the end of October we will lose Impofu (water system) as well and in December the Gqeberha areas will be affected," said Senior Director for Water and Sanitation, Barry Martin said.
He said two large water tanks would be positioned at 50 sites across Kwanobuhle and would be rolled during May so that this is in place by the end of June.
Addressing the media Wednesday, Executive Mayor, Nqaba Bhanga, said day zero could be avoided if all citizens played their part, by drastically reducing consumption.
Bhanga said they would also prioritise fixing the bulk water infrastructure and the multitude of water leaks.
He said through their interventions real water losses have dropped from 39% as of June 2020, to 29,4% as of 28 February 2021.
"This is an ongoing challenge due to aging infrastructure. Often as one leak is repaired, another takes its place. The municipality is identifying aging infrastructure that needs to be replaced, but this will take time," said Bhanga.
The mayor said the Municipality would be rolling out a comprehensive communications campaign to inform residents of the critical need to save water.
He also warned that the Metro would be "rolling out higher level C water tariffs for residential, commercial and industrial, as well as institutional and government consumers as well as water restrictors to be placed on the highest water consumers.
"In the event that we do not get any favourable rains, and our dams do run dry, we are also putting emergency measures in place to provide water to those areas that will be worst affected, and where taps can run dry. These measures include the establishment of standpipes and water tanks, where communities will be able to collect water for essential use."
