PHUTI MOSOMANE
THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has appealed to all residents and businesses to drastically reduce their water consumption as the current 293 million litres per day (mld) water consumption is alarmingly high considering the allocated 230 million litres per day.
“The current 290 mld water usage puts the Metro over the limit by 61 mld.”
“This situation is putting serious strain on the water distribution system as the current demand is way above the allocated supply as per the Department of Water and Sanitation,” the municipality media manager Mthubanzi Mniki said on Monday.
Mniki said communities need to work together with the municipality to save water as “dam levels are extremely low.”
Last month the municipality took a difficult decision to decrease its extraction to the required allocation by the Department of Water and Sanitation, due to the constrained dam levels.
The current high consumption has left the system with a supply deficit, causing low pressure to regular intermittent water supply in the Western areas.
As things stand, the municipality said the system is severely under pressure at Emerald Hill reservoir and Greenbushes.
Both reservoirs are at 4% and 29%, respectively.
“We are experiencing water disruptions and/or no water in the two zones,” Mniki added.
This situation will be worsened by the reduced flow from the Nooitgedagt water treatment works due to critical work required.
A sluice gate will be installed in the filter channel to make operations more efficient and it will create more flexibility for future work.
Nooitgedagt was shut down for about 10 hours and the work last week Wednesday, 8 March 2023.
The municipality called on residents and businesses to drastically reduce water consumption so that all residents and businesses can share in the little that is still left.
Businesses are requested to decrease their water consumption by 20%.
Residents are requested to use less than 50 litres per person per day.
Residents are encouraged to use grey/recycled or rain-harvested water for non-drinking purposes like irrigation, car washing and washing of tools.
Residents, both at home and at work, must shorten their shower time to a maximum of two minutes.
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