The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says it has a number of contingency plans in place to prevent the City from completely exhausting all its water supplies and it will remain open for tourism and investment.

Andrew Whitfield MMC for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, says the City remains open for business however it is currently facing water shortages and the municipality is encouraging all our visitors to help the City to save water.

Nooitgedagt scheme

Some of the City’s strategies include phase three of the Nooitgedagt Low Level Scheme which will come online this year, after which the entire system will provide a total of 210 ML a day to the Metro.

“The Nooitgedacht scheme is the extension of the Nooitgedacht water-treatment works that treats water from the Gariep Dam that borders the Free State and Eastern Cape Province. The water then flows via the Orange-Fish River tunnel and a series of connected rivers to the Sundays River irrigation scheme.

“From there it is piped, via the treatment works, to areas which include Port Elizabeth. Nelson Mandela Bay commenced the Phase 1 of the operation as far back as 2011 in anticipation of water restrictions,” Whitfield notes.

Contingency plans

The City has also embarked on a Municipality-wide groundwater exploration programme and has begun reducing the velocity and pressure of water moving through pipes. “Additionally, there will be an accelerated infrastructure maintenance and replacement operation over the next few years, starting immediately,” he adds.

Whitfield notes that the city also plans to install water restriction devices in households or businesses who have been identified as consuming excessive amounts of water.

“As Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality we are confident that we will not reach ‘Day Zero’ and we will continue to support and welcome tourism and investors into our city in order to maintain economic growth and contribute to job creation opportunities,” he concludes