Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said it was working against the clock to find additional sources of water to supplement the current deteriorating supply due to the persistent drought.
Executive mayor, Athol Trollip, said in a statement on Monday that the Metro's reservoirs were at an all-time low and that the situation was worsening due to the persistent below-average rainfall that has not been able to break the current drought.
He also said that Nelson Mandela Bay had officially introduced the Motherwell Groundwater Point, located in the Motherwell cemetery where businesses and residents are encouraged to make use of this resource in order to save "our purified/treated potable water supplies".
"The current yield for the Motherwell Groundwater Point is 20 million litres of water per day and this is a major source of water that can assist in ensuring that less of our scarce drinkable (potable) water is sparred," Trollip said.
"However, the water at the site is not fit for drinking and as such, people are advised to use if for car washes, filling up of swimming pools, construction, gardening and other water usages.
The City is also looking at other possible potential groundwater exploration inside the Municipal boundaries to find additional water sources."
Trollip said that the Municipality had also discovered a favourable area for drilling, extraction and treatment of the Coega Aquifer which will have a yield of 26 megaliters of water per day.
"The Metro has submitted a licence application to the Department of Water and Sanitation and is awaiting approval before we can break ground. Other sites in Uitenhage and Groendam for the drilling of boreholes have been identified and water will be tested for its quality and be pumped into our reservoirs if it is found to be fit for human consumption," he said.
"In order to mitigate the ongoing tampering and sabotage of Municipal services, I will write a proposal for the City to look into paying a reward to anyone who helps with information that can lead to a conviction of anyone who is found guilty of perpetrating these acts of sabotage that result in great inconvenience to residents of our city."
"It is against the law for anyone to tamper with Municipal services and infrastructure as this compromises people's rights," Trollip said.
"I appeal to every councillor, staff member and resident to recommit ourselves to delivering better services to our people and make sure that the City works," he added.
