DWS weekly water leaks fixing blitz in Nelson Mandela Bay yielding positive results

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in unison with Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM) and other stakeholders such as Amatola Water and Business Chambers have intensified their efforts to reduce water consumption and repairing of water leaks to address water challenges in the city.

A joint venture by the department and municipality’s weekly water leaks fixing blitz and introduction of water demand management devices are bearing fruits. To this end 5589 water leaks have been discovered through the blitz and 4124 of them have been repaired. A total of 10 708 households in the city have been identified for water restrictions by means of water demand management devices.

Speaking on water challenges in Nelson Mandela Bay and the water leaks drive, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Director-General, Dr Sean Phillips says it is feasible to reduce water leaks significantly by means of repairing them, however Dr Phillips admitted that it is not possible to achieve a zero leaks in the city, because of aging water infrastructure.

“The municipality is putting together emergency stations where people can go collect water and if the drought worsens, we have agreed to assist the municipality with procuring of water tankers to supply water to water stressed areas”, Dr Phillips stated.

The department is further calling on the residence of Nelson Mandela Bay to reduce their daily water consumption by at least 20% to ensure that there is enough water for everyone and to avoid water supply interruptions. Water users in the area are advised to utilise 50 litres per person per day.

Dr Phillips further indicated that the full functionality of Nooidgedacht Water Scheme which is partly complete will come in very handy to the residents of the area.

‘’The completion of Nooidgedacht Water Scheme is expected to augment 210 Ml/ per day to the city, this water will flow from Gariep Dam in the Free State”, Dr Phillips said.

As a measure to offer much needed information about curbing wasteful utilisation of the available water and conscientizing people about the current drought induced water crisis, the department and municipality will on Wednesday, 13 July 2022 embark on a public awareness campaign in the city.

Source: Government of South Africa