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Nelson Mandela Bay's ongoing water crisis came under the spotlight at a workshop aimed at creating a 'water resilient city.'
The Minister of Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu opened the conference on Tuesday morning, leading discussions with business, labour, civil society, and government on medium to longer-term solutions for the water crisis.
The Department said it has been working with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in implementing several short-term interventions to address water challenges in the metro, following intervention by the Minister earlier this year.
The discussions come as the Metro's main supply dams, boosted somewhat by recent good rain in the catchment area, stood at 15.47% of total combined capacity on Monday.
In his address, Minister Mchunu reiterated the importance of sustained communication with all water users as a critical tool in saving water.
"Nelson Mandela Bay can't be water resilient when the people are not aware that they have to contribute to making sure that we conserve water among other things,".
The City’s Water and Sanitation boss, Barry Martin, said the Municipality was looking at diversifying its water sources to create a "water resilient city".
He said the Municipality needed to evaluate and plan on which water project it will tackle between building a desalination plant or commissioning phase four of the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Scheme.
He told the conference that both these projects would run into billions of rand, but adequate planning is needed to avoid unnecessary costs.
"If you plan adequately and in advance, put procurement processes in advance and get the market to price it appropriately they price less risk and the biggest thing here is the risk," Martin added.
Amanda Gcanga from the World Resources Institute said everyone needs to play their part when it comes to building urban water resilience in a community of the size of Nelson Mandela Bay.
The CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Denise van Huysteen, told the conference that they are also doing a lot of forward planning in terms of looking after infrastructure, as continued water availability is critical to businesses across the Metro.
Meanwhile, Mzukisi Mpahlwa who represents the South African National NGO coalition and communities around the Metro also stressed the need for continuous engagement with local communities on the water crisis facing the Metro.
"Our communities are not aware that we have a seven-year drought in this Metro. We have got to engage our communities to make sure that there is a drought," Mpahlwa said.
“The main thrust of the workshop was to start a process of consolidating Nelson Mandela Bay’s Water Masterplan and charting a path to a water resilient city,” the spokesperson for the JOC, Luvuyo Bangazi.
