Water restrictions imminent for Nelson Mandela Bay Metro

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

A water shortage is looming in Nelson Mandela Bay and water restrictions are imminent.

Metrominute says that a report to the Council's Infrastructure, Engineering and Energy Committee later this week, states that water restrictions will be introduced on the First of October along with an increase in the water tariff.

Banned from this date will be the use of water obtained from the municipality’s supply system for watering gardens, lawns, grassed areas and flower beds amongst others.

The restrictions will also prohibit the use or operation” of hosepipes, sprinklers, sprinkler and drip systems, automatic swimming pool filters and automatic urinal flushing systems.

Explaining the background to the decision, the report says the Department of Water and Sanitation, previously the Department of Water Affairs, “carries out annual modelling of the water resources of the region”.

Based on this it “regulates the rate of withdrawal from the various dams within the Algoa Water Supply Region for the following year”.

It says a meeting was held on July 1 this year between municipality staff and the Department of Water and Sanitation where it was announced that “the annual modelling predicts a water shortage crisis by 2015.

“As a consequence, the municipality has been restricted to 90% of its annual water allocation from all its resources with effect from July 1, 2014.”

The changes in the water tariffs will see the first 0.4 kilolitres a days (kl/d) for residential consumers charged at R9.44 whereas currently the first 0.8kld falls into this bracket. The next 0.4kl/d will be at R11.83 where currently the next 0.8kl/d is charged at this rate.

The next 0.8kl/d will be charged at R26.31 (currently the next 1kl/d is charged at R14.05) while the next 0.5 kl/d will be charged at R31.89 from October 1. Additional consumption will be charged at R79.73 (R23.92).

The tariff for commercial and institutions will be R13.52 (R9.44) and industrial R12.30 (R9.44).

(Source: Metro Minute to subscribe mail metminutes@iafrica.com)