Get ready for water restrictions
State slashes Bay’s allocation by 15% as dam levels drop
WATER restrictions are likely to be implemented in Nelson Mandela Bay next week after the national government slashed the metro’s water supply by a staggering 15%. Consumers will also have to pay much higher tariffs if they fail to reduce their consumption.
The restrictions, which were gazetted on Tuesday, were meant to be effective from the beginning of this month until February next year.
They have not been implemented by the municipality yet, but councillors are expected to rubber-stamp the decision at a council meeting on Tuesday.
This will mean watering gardens, plants, golf greens and sports fields with a hosepipe will be banned.
Buckets and watering cans must be used instead.
Residents and businesses will also not be allowed to fill swimming pools, ponds or wash paved areas, walls and buildings. Only pools at hotels, schools, medical centres, educational institutions and fitness centres will be exempted from the restrictions, as well as municipal pools.
Contravening the restrictions will constitute a criminal offence.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has called on business and residential consumers to immediately take on a water conservation mindset as water supply for the region may remain challenging for a substantial time to come.
The news of the water restrictions comes as the municipality battles a water shortage and massive increase in consumption in recent months.
The metro’s four supply dams had a combined capacity of 67.04% on March 9, 4% less than last month and 20% less than the same time last year.
According to the notice in the government gazette, Water and Sanitation director-general Margaret-Anne Diedericks is “of the opinion that a water shortage exists in the Algoa Water Supply System”.
It says: “Consequently ... for the period starting from 1 March 2015 until 29 February 2016, or until any further notice that is published in this regard, the taking of water by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality from all its sources be restricted by 15%.”
The metro’s water resources listed are the Kouga Dam and Gamtoos canal, the Impofu Dam, the Churchill Dam, the Nooitgedacht water treatment works, the Groendal Dam, the Uitenhage Springs, the Sand River Dam, the Bulk River Dam, and the upper and lower Van Stadens River dams.
Diedericks also restricted the use of water for agricultural use from the Kromme River by 20%.
Municipal spokesman Roland Williams said the restrictions were supposed to have been implemented in November already, but the item was not tabled and thus not approved by the council.
“Nelson Mandela Bay, [a] water-scarce region, uses up to approximately 320ML [320 million litres or 320 000kl] of water per day,” he said.
“The current supply system can safely produce approximately 270ML per day.
“To fill the demand gap, we are using water from the Kromme system –- the Churchill and Mpofu Dams – which causes the dam levels to drop drastically, and thus exacerbates the water-scarcity problem.
“We have taken note of the gazette which imposes a 15% reduction on water usage in the Bay.
“We are confident that, in unison as the community of Nelson Mandela Bay, we can easily achieve this target. In terms of the multi-year budget that was approved, a
stepped-tariff approach is implemented for water consumption.
“The stepped tariffs are not intended to penalise consumers nor for the municipality to earn extra revenue.
“The reason is quite simply to ensure we all contribute to . . . saving water.”
The DA, which raised the alarm about the restrictions yesterday morning on seeing the gazette notice, said it was outraged.
DA caucus leader, councillor Retief Odendaal, said: “The cutting of all water to our metro by 15% sets us on course for a water crisis. This is a crisis that could have been avoided were it not for the empty promises of the Presidency to fund the completion of the Nooitgedacht low-level water scheme.
“This betrayal along with the dismal performance of our municipality in stopping the waste of approximately 40% of our city’s water on an annual basis will leave the people of this metro high and dry. Our municipality must fix the pipes and stop the waste.
“The president needs to keep his word and urgently release the funding promised for the completion of the Nooitgedacht scheme.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive Kevin Hustler said the development was no surprise and the chamber had been in discussions with the city’s leadership over the matter.
He said among a number of issues being addressed around water was the high level of wastage, but a number of programmes were being implemented to manage this.
“Schools, particularly those with plumbing problems, have been highlighted as being among the more problematic. To address this, entities such as the Department of Public Works and the Education Department are working with schools to curtail the wastage.
“Their efforts will be combined with extensive communication initiatives.”
Hustler said consumer and business water conservation campaigns would play an important role in managing the supply.
Business was in a position to draw on its water conservation programmes developed during the 2009-10 drought period.
“There are a number of best-practice initiatives in place and we call on business and industries which have them to share their water conservation practices with others.
“There are engineers, plant managers and others who have done exceptionally well to reduce, for example, energy use in the face of the Eskom crisis. These professionals should apply the same mindsets to develop water conservation solutions,” he said.
Acknowledging the disappointment around the funding of the Nooitgedacht scheme and that the chamber had advocated for its completion, Hustler said he understood that even if the R360-million for its completion were handed over tomorrow, it would be too late to avert the current water supply problem, even in the near future.
However, the provincial government was committed to helping find solutions to the water concerns, he said. “Irrespective, we all need to adopt and follow through on a water-conservation mindset. If the current drought conditions continue, we could have water supply problems over the long term.”
UDM councillor Mongameli Bobani said the government had reneged on its promise to fund Nooitgedacht, leaving the metro in a sad state. “It’s sad because the government is not putting the interest of the metro at heart. It’s sad for the city,” Bobani said.
COPE caucus leader councillor Khwezi Ntshanyana said it would affect both residents and business. “The government must do everything to ensure people have access to water,” he said.
Nelson Mandela Bay Ratepayers’ Association chairman Kobus Gerber said he had been warning ratepayers for the past two years that a water crisis was looming.
Calling on all Bay residents to become more self-reliant by investing in water tanks and alternative forms of power supply, Gerber warned that water shortages would be far more devastating than load-shedding.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent, when you take the electricity crisis and other infrastructure challenges into account, that we can no longer rely on the government,” he said. “We have to become far more self-reliant if we are going to survive.”
Zuma promised on the eve of last year’s elections to fund the R360-million needed to expand the Nooitgedacht low-level scheme.
But the metro’s hopes were dashed when the national Treasury informed the city that the money would not be coming.
The metro will have to dig into its coffers to fund the expansion, which means it could take longer to complete.