Weekend rain does little to raise dam levels
DESPITE much-needed rain falling over Nelson Mandela Bay and the surrounding areas at the weekend, heavier downpours will have to occur before any significant change is seen in the dam levels.
This means that even with the completion of phase two of the upgrades at the Nooitgedacht water treatment facility, Bay residents must still use water sparingly.
According to the South African Weather Service, some parts of the metro received more than 50mm of rain, while 20mm to 30mm fell in some of the catchment areas supplying water to the metro.
SA Weather Service Port Elizabeth spokesman Garth Sampson said: “I doubt the rain we had in the catchment areas will have any significant impact.
“Our studies have shown you need at least 50mm of rain for there to be a change in the dam levels worth really celebrating.
“The rain we had over the weekend might add 3% to our overall dam levels, but no more than that.
“At this stage, the runoff from the catchment areas is still flowing into the dams, so a more accurate measurement will only happen in a few days – but the change will be minimal.”
He said the highest rainfall in the Bay was measured at Blue Horizon Bay (79mm), Riverstone Road between Sherwood and Kabega (71mm), and Shark Rock Pier at Hobie Beach (61mm).
The Port Elizabeth airport, Fettes Road and the Van Stadens Flower Reserve all recorded more than 50mm of rain.
Low-lying areas like Chatty had 36mm.
The Third Avenue dip in Newton Park had to be closed when the road flooded after 44mm of rain fell in the area.
Surrounding catchment areas like Uitenhage and Patensie measured 13mm and 19mm respectively, while Kareedouw recorded 27mm and Joubertina 9mm.
Yesterday, Bay mayor Athol Trollip said that the Nooitgedacht water treatment facility’s capacity had been increased as phase two of upgrades at the facility had been completed recently.
“The recently completed Phase 2 of the Nooitgedacht Low-Level Scheme has undergone a week of testing and is now approved for ongoing supply to our city.
“After two years of construction, this additional supply could not have come at a better time.
“An extra 140 million litres of water will now be pumped daily into the municipality’s network, compensating for the drought-induced shortages at the Western supply dams.”
Trollip warned, however, that the municipality remained a disaster area and residents needed to continue water-saving efforts.
When the dam levels were last measured on Thursday, the total average for the dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay was 31.87%.
The Kouga dam had dipped just below the 15% mark, while
Churchill dropped to 7.53%. The Impofu, Groendal and Loerie dams were at 58.14%, 49.14% and 33.97%, respectively.
Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said besides some waterlogged roads being closed temporarily on Saturday, no serious damage had been reported as a result of the heavy rain.
Newton Park businessman Deon Richardson, 48, suffered damage to his scooter and motorbike repair workshop when stormwater flooded his yard.
Richardson said when he arrived at the Scooter Clinic, on the corner of Burt Drive and 6th Avenue on Saturday morning, he saw scooter parts floating around the knee-deep water in his yard.
“It looks like the stormwater drains were not working properly and all the water from the street ran into our yard,” he said.
“The scooters and bikes had fallen over and were under water. I could see parts floating around all over the place.
“The whole workshop was waterlogged, so we are still looking for our tools.”
Richardson said they had knocked a hole into the wall at the lowest point of the yard so that the water could drain into the street and down a different stormwater drain.
“I estimate the damage in the region of R100 000,” he said.
“Luckily, our offices were not damaged. Now we need to get our workshop back in order so we can start repair work on these bikes and scooters.”
Sampson said warmer weather was expected this week, with a slight chance of light rain towards the weekend.