The good news is that the dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay are full to overflowing.
The bad news is not only the extensive damage caused by the floods earlier this month, but that the idea of full dams creates a false sense of water security.
About a year ago, the dams in the Algoa system supplying Nelson Mandela Bay, as well as surrounding towns and farming areas, were at about 70% capacity.
All was well, or so many thought.
A year later, and just a week before the recent heavy rains, the alarm bells were ringing that useable water in the dams was below 30%. Another “day zero” was rapidly looming.
Declining dam levels were in large part due to users consuming substantially over our daily target – and that was largely due to the dams effectively feeding over 7 000 leaks across the metro, and unaccounted water losses climbing to over 60%, making this the highest water losing metro in the country.
In theory, the now-full dams could give Nelson Mandela Bay, Kouga and surrounding areas reliant on those dams for domestic and business water supply, and agricultural irrigation, up to three years’ worth of water supply confidence.
In reality, if Nelson Mandela Bay continues at the current rate of water going to waste through “unaccounted water losses”, those full dams will be close to empty again in the near future. This highlights that even though we have had good rains we should not take our foot of the pedal as the metro is still confronting a water management crisis.
The need is now even more urgent for the Municipality to address its backlog of leaks as well as issues of illegal water use, meter tampering and inaccurate billing – all of which contribute not only to unacceptable waste of clean water (more than double what the National Treasury considers an “acceptable” or unavoidable loss), but also to millions of rands in lost revenue that could be used to maintain and upgrade infrastructure and deliver services.
When heavy rains and high winds do happen, it can be expected there will be some disruption to local water and electricity supply – due to electrical pumping equipment being inundated with water or water treatment works being put to the test to clean large volumes of water contaminated by an influx of mud and litter stirred up by surging flood waters.
However, the prolonged water and electricity outages affecting numerous areas across the metro since the floods, and in several cases for long before the flood impact, point to the general lack of planning and proactive maintenance of the infrastructure.
The Municipality needs to move at a much faster pace to address these shortcomings – get the basics in place of ensuring fuel supplies for vehicles, chemicals for water treatment, tools of the trade for artisans, and get contractors appointed and on the ground with greater urgency.
The floods highlighted the critical impact proactive maintenance does have when it is carried out – for example the flood waters in some areas of the metro, such as the 3rd Avenue/Cape Road intersection notorious for flooding and traffic disruption during heavy rains, was far less than in past experience.
This does seem to be due to a better executed and more frequent clearing of stormwater drains in this area.
The flood waters also didn’t cause the widespread devastation which was seen in Kariega in 2024.
This, we believe, was largely due to efforts over the past few months of drain cleaning, removing blockages, and clearing alien vegetation in the two Kariega stormwater canals.
Business has played a key role in driving action by the Municipality to ramp up drain cleaning and other flood mitigation measures such as clearing alien vegetation and clean-up initiatives.
Through the Business Chamber’s Risk Management Desk, we have secured good collaboration with the Municipality and the active involvement of businesses volunteering time and expertise to participate in these initiatives – highlighting what is possible through constructive collaboration.
While the Bay currently has the blessing of full dams, this is not the time for complacency.
As residents and businesses, it is imperative that we continue to operate in a water-wise, sustainable way for the long term. We have to accept that we live in a water-scarce area, that water is a limited resource, and take responsibility for our own consumption. Also, alongside this we need to acknowledge that water bankruptcy has become a global issue, where humanity is withdrawing more freshwater—from dams, rivers, and underground aquifers—than nature can replenish.
Putting water conservation and saving measures in place – water tanks, recycling, reuse of process and grey water – is not only the right thing to do in terms of long-term security of water, it provides an essential buffer in times of water shortages, whatever the cause may be. This is not just a municipal requirement but is a responsibility which we all jointly carry, including residents and businesses of the metro.
The Chamber encourages the involvement of businesses, through our geographic clusters and Risk Management Desk, in initiatives of drain cleaning, clearing illegal dumping and removing alien vegetation – all of which contribute to limiting the impact on lives and property of extreme weather.
At the same time, the Municipality needs to restore public confidence and trust in its ability to effectively manage water resources and systems for treatment and distribution of water.
The metro must effectively implement a comprehensive water management plan to drastically reduce water losses, repair and upgrade infrastructure, and continuously get the basics right of maintaining stormwater and sanitation systems.
Above all water-consciousness must be a permanent way of life for all in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Denise van Huyssteen is Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.