Please report water leaks, Nelson Mandela Bay metro pleads By Raahil Sain - 03 May 2021
SAVE WATER: Infrastructure and engineering portfolio head Masixole Zinto visited KwaNobuhle at the weekend and urged residents to report all water leaks and use water sparingly Image: Supplied
As Gqeberha residents prepare for their taps to run dry, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has launched an “aggressive”, area-focused water leaks repair strategy programme.
Internal and external teams will now zoom into specific areas to fix reported and unreported water leaks.
The portfolio head for infrastructure and engineering, councillor Masixole Zinto, visited KwaNobuhle on Saturday and urged residents to report all water leaks.
Flowers, trees and vegetation grow in spaces where once, around 2015, there was water in Nelson Mandela Bay’s two biggest dams. The metro, consisting of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) and Despatch is home to an estimated 1.3 million people.
Kouga dam caretaker Vuyani Dlomo looks over the dam that is now only 4.5% full, the lowest level since its construction between 1959 and 1969. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality last week launched a major campaign to urge residents to save water as dam levels dropped to new lows. The area has been in the grip of a prolonged drought.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s director of water and sanitation, Barry Martin, looked stressed as he read from the list in front of him. He is dealing with the extreme water crisis in the metro: 1 July, 1 August, 1 October, 1 December. These are the projected dates when, absent some serious rainfall, t.
NMB residents urged to use water sparingly as dam levels dip below 15% The municipality said while it was working on water management projects, water consumption needed to go down as soon as possible. Picture: Supplied
4 hours ago
CAPE TOWN - The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, in the Eastern Cape, has urged residents to use water sparingly as dam levels dip below 15%.
The municipality said while it was working on water management projects, water consumption needed to go down as soon as possible.
Parts of the province have been in the grips of a drought for the past seven years.
The municipality said dams in Nelson Mandela Bay remain critically low and the situation was dire.
NMB authorities warn of dire situation as dam levels running dangerously low Nelson Mandela Bay authorities have begged residents to use water sparingly as the average dam levels in the metro sat at just over 14%. FILE: Authorities have warned if dams reach 5% and below, taps could run dry. Picture: Supplied
City authorities have begged residents to use water sparingly.
The average dam levels in the metro were sitting at just over 14%.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Municipality said that it was working around the clock to fix water leaks in the area as residents anxiously waited for rain.
The municipality s Masixole Zinto said: “The drought situation is very bad in NMB, dam levels are at 14.32%. It s very dire, we are hoping that our communities will assist us.