The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has welcomed the municipality for deploying its advanced Telemetry-SCADA system, which allows it to remotely monitor and control key elements of its water infrastructure.
Denise van Huyssteen, Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, said the municipality’s investment in this state-of-the-art technology is an important step in strengthening service delivery and resource management, especially in a region facing serious water constraints. She said the system reflects a practical engineering response to infrastructure challenges, enabling faster response times, more precise monitoring and the efficient use of limited resources without the need for increased on-site personnel.
“The Telemetry-SCADA system is helping to optimise operations and allow the municipality to act faster and more proactively when faults or inefficiencies are detected. This development is a positive move in the right direction,” said Van Huyssteen. “However, the effectiveness of this system can only go so far without a shift in water consumption behaviour. Our metro is still consuming well above the daily target, and this places enormous strain on available resources.”
At the same time, the Chamber has raised concerns about the rising levels of water consumption across the metro, calling on both residents and businesses to urgently reassess their daily usage.
As of 26 August 2025, the municipality’s water consumption reached 362 million litres per day (MLD), 82 MLD over the target demand of 280 MLD. This is up from 341 MLD recorded in July 2024, 285 MLD recorded in July 2023, and 265 MLD recorded in July 2022, indicating a concerning year-on-year increase in user consumption and a drop in dam levels.
Van Huyssteen stressed that sustainable water management is a shared responsibility, and urged the business sector and local residents to take active steps in reducing their usage. “The Chamber is appealing to every business and institutions to monitor and reduce their water consumption. Small changes across every household and business in the metro can make a big difference in bringing our usage back within sustainable levels.” As we head into spring and summer, the system could be at further risk of supply disruptions due to anticipated further increases in user demand.
Non-revenue water losses, including leaks and consumption, has also been flagged as one of the big risks to water security and the financial sustainability of the metro. It is estimated that the metro has, since 2023, lost between 42% and 48% of its potable water to leaks, pipe breaks and illegal connections.
The Chamber’s statement comes as the municipality continues to strengthen the reach of its Telemetry-SCADA system, a centralised remote-monitoring and control platform connected to critical infrastructure, including water treatment works, reservoirs, pump stations, boreholes and flow meters. The system is already fully functional across water infrastructure and is being phased into sanitation services, starting with pump stations and soon to include wastewater treatment facilities.
According to Joseph Tsatsire, Acting Executive Director for Infrastructure and Engineering at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, the system has already begun shifting the city’s operations from a reactive to a more proactive model, allowing for better forecasting, quicker response times and improved coordination of maintenance and repairs.
“Our technical teams are now able to monitor infrastructure performance in real time, allowing us to detect faults early and respond before they affect service delivery,” said Tsatsire. “This efficiency helps us maximise limited resources, but it also means we must continue recalibrating how our systems operate to keep up with changing demand patterns.”
Tsatsire added that while the municipality is doing its part to strengthen infrastructure and improve operations, reduced consumption remains critical. “The reality is that our water sources are not unlimited. We need residents and businesses to be part of the solution by making water conservation a daily priority.”
The current dam levels, although improved compared to previous drought periods, remain under pressure. Combined storage is at 66.33%, with 8.99% classified as dead storage, leaving the effective usable supply at 57.34%. Of particular concern is the Impofu Dam, the largest dam dedicated to supplying water to the NMBM, which is at 49.68% as of 01 September 2025. Accounting for dead storage of 16.50%, this leaves only 33.18% available in this dam.
While the Business Chamber welcomes these efforts, it continues to urge all stakeholders to treat water conservation and addressing water losses as an urgent and ongoing priority. Infrastructure innovation and maintenance is a crucial part of the solution, but responsible consumption is equally important in securing the metro’s water future.
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