Despite the heavy rains Nelson Mandela Bay received recently, the city’s combined dam levels remain critically low with only 10.16% of supply recorded as of 26 July.
And the Kouga Dam, which directly supplies the KwaNobuhle area, is tracking at a very low 3.98% level. This means that very little relief has been provided in terms of the very serious water crisis impacting upon Nelson Mandela Bay.
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation, the rainfall was largely coastal with no significant run off into the catchment areas. As such, the Metro is still facing a water crisis with projections that KwaNobuhle will run out of water either at the end of July or beginning of August, with key industrial and commercial areas, Kariega and a number of suburbs potentially following in the coming weeks and months. These parts of the city are not inter-connected to the main infrastructure supply source which receives its water via the Nooitgedacht scheme. Even though parts of the city will continue to have access to water, they are likely to be subjected to water shedding as water gets reallocated to support areas that are most in need.
This will have huge ramifications for businesses operating in the vicinity and could potentially lead to a humanitarian crisis for directly impacted communities. Even more concerning, South Africa is currently in the middle of a deadly pandemic and as a basic need, water is a critical resource.
We call upon all stakeholders in Nelson Mandela Bay from its citizens through to business to urgently save water in order to mitigate the high risks associated with the current water crisis. It has therefore become urgently important, and in the best interests of the city as a whole, that all stakeholders reduce their daily water consumption levels by at least 20%. To date residents and businesses have largely ignored the call to reduce their daily consumption levels to help lengthen the time water can continue to the supplied to impacted areas. The city’s current consumption trend averages 300 Megalitres per day against DWS’s allocation of 250 Ml per day to the Metro.
Water is a limited resource that cannot be easily replaced especially if the drought continues and without any short-term predictions of significant rains to break the cycle.
We must urgently prioritise our water consumption habits through significant behavioural changes, failing which we will be forced to join long queues, during a pandemic, to collect water from water tanks or communal taps.
Currently 35% of the Metro’s water is lost due to leaks, while 10% of the total water loss in the city happens at schools. As an intervention, the Business Chamber recently initiated an Adopt a School programme which comprises representation across different sectors and is aimed at reducing water losses in the Metro.
To date, eight companies in Nelson Mandela Bay have adopted 21 schools as part of the Chamber’s city-wide water preservation effort to address the current water losses in the Metro. They have prioritised schools in KwaNobuhle who have been identified as huge water consumers and are assisting with fixing their faulty plumbing systems. Some have committed to drill boreholes to ensure there is a steady water supplied in their adopted schools.
The intervention from these companies showcases the importance of working together as businesses, residents and government to address some of the challenges facing our city.