The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has cautiously welcomed the rechanneling of water from the Gariep and Vanderkloof dams into the Algoa Bay Water System.
The Department of Water and Sanitation announced on Friday that the dams that supply water to the Metro would benefit from these two overflowing dams, following recent heavy rains in the interior.
Department spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau says the water will be channelled from the 82-kilometre-long Orange Fish Tunnel into the Fish River, all the way to Port Elizabeth.
"When these two dams are bursting at the seams, they spill water into the Orange River, through the Orange Fish Tunnel which was built to divert water from the river down to the Fish River", he said.
Nelson Mandela Bay's combined dam levels are currently at just above 18% of capacity.
The Metro's biggest dam, the Kouga is at 8% and the Groendal Dam near Uitenhage at 39.2%.
