The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has confirmed that it is going ahead with the Nooitgedacht Low Level Scheme Phase 2 Project which will see additional water added to the bay’s supply system.

“There has been a lot of talk around national government’s commitment to this project. Again, we wish to categorically state that the Nooidgedacht Low Level Scheme Phase 2 project is definitely going ahead as planned,” said municipal spokesperson Roland Williams.

Williams said three contractors have been appointed and the site was handed over on 10 December 2014.

“Physical construction is scheduled to commence in April 2015 and be complete in the first quarter of 2017, effectively within two years. While the contractor is constructing over the next two years, the supply system will be under severe strain, as has now been proven, and we therefore appeal to all our consumers to use water sparingly.”

During 2014, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality convened media and stakeholder briefings to alert consumers to limit water usage due to the current consumption patterns in relation to the supply system.

“Nelson Mandela Bay currently uses up to approximately 320 million litres of water per day. The current supply system can safely produce approximately 270 ml per day.

“Currently the dams which supply Nelson Mandela Bay are about 66% full. This is about 20% less than at the same time last year,” Williams said.

In order to fill the demand gap, Williams said the municipality is using water from the Kromme system (Churchill and Mpofu Dams), which causes the dam levels to drop drastically and thus exacerbates the water-scarcity problem.