Available supply from Nelson Mandela Bay dams drops below 35%

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Nelson Mandela Bay’s water woes remain an issue with total available water in the dams dropping below 35% for the first time in three years.

Current total dam levels are sitting at 43.62%, with available water sitting at 34.63%.

Aggravating the situation, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen said, was that unaccounted-for water losses in the Bay were exceeding 50% with consumption sitting at about 90-million litres a day above target.

“Without decisive intervention and improved rainfall in the weeks ahead, the likelihood of water-shedding and tighter restrictions increases materially.”

Van Huyssteen said the current water situation was not defined by dam levels only.

“The metro is facing a mounting water management risk.”

She said the impact of water shortages on Bay businesses would be significant.

“Water is a core production input across key sectors including manufacturing, automotive, tourism, hospitality, health care and food processing.

“Escalating restrictions or intermittent supply disruptions would translate into higher operating costs, production inefficiencies, potential downtime and added pressure on supply chains.

“Beyond the immediate operational effects, sustained instability in water management undermines investor confidence and weakens broader economic resilience.”

On Thursday morning, The Herald visited the site of a new major leak along Old Cape Road in Rowallan Park.

The leak had sprung up on Wednesday evening and water was still gushing down Old Cape Road on Thursday morning.

By measuring four seconds to fill a 20-litre bucket, The Herald estimates that 18,000 litres of water per hour were coming out of this leak.

Over a 24 hour period, this would equate to about 432,000 litres a day.

DA ward councillor Vernon Boggenpoel said he suspected vandals had damaged the main 500mm pipe on Wednesday during a water outage.

“Vandals are making an opportunity out of us having no water in this area.

“When the pump station at Motherwell is vandalised, we are affected here in the Western suburbs and its becoming a weekly thing.

“We are without water on a weekly basis here, sometimes two or three days at a time.”

Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the municipality was operating under a formal, approved drought mitigation plan designed specifically for prolonged below-average rainfall conditions.

“Measures already in operation include network-wide pressure management, intensified leak detection and pipe rehabilitation, bulk and zonal metering, non-revenue water reduction, groundwater abstraction within licensed limits, optimisation of the Nooitgedacht transfer scheme, and infrastructure upgrades to stabilise supply.

“The plan also provides for treated effluent reuse options, emergency supply contingencies, and intergovernment co-ordination.

“These interventions are active and ongoing,” he said.

South African Weather Service client liaison officer Lungile Jele said judging by the past five years of rainfall patterns, most months of 2025 had below average rainfall.

“According to the latest seasonal forecast, rainfall signals are showing rainfall below normal.”

With regard to possible water restrictions, Soyaya said: “Any escalation to formal water restrictions requires a detailed technical assessment and formal council approval following engineering review.

“They are governed by system sustainability analysis and long-term infrastructure considerations.

“Water security during a prolonged drought is a shared system challenge that requires co-ordination between government, residents, business, industry and civil society.

“The campaign focuses on transparency of data, behavioural change and practical guidance that enables all stakeholders to reduce pressure on the system.

“Stabilising [water] supply depends on aligned action across the entire metro.”

Infrastructure and engineering executive director Joseph Tsatsire said the worst shortage in recent memory was when the total dam levels were at 9% in 2021.

He said the municipality had invested in the reliability of the infrastructure for the past eight years.

Water and sanitation political head Buyelwa Mafaya encouraged residents to use water sparingly.

“We cannot do anything without water, and they must continuously report any illegal water connections, water leaks and those who steal water, as that is illegal and is costing smooth supply of water to our residents.”

With regard to the leak along Old Cape Road, Soyaya said while videos and public alerts were useful in drawing attention to potential issues, repairs could only be actioned once a leak was officially recorded and technically assessed through municipal channels.

“With regard to the specific leak, the municipality is currently verifying whether this incident has been formally logged on the municipal system, when it was reported, and how it was categorised for response.”