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Nearly a week after the landmark rains which filled Nelson Mandela Bay dams to the brim, residents in many parts of the city are, bizarrely, without water.
More than 70 suburbs and zones were experiencing water disruptions, the municipality said in a statement on Monday morning.
Much of this related to the electrical problems caused by the torrential rain last week as it flooded the systems needed to drive water distribution and deal with the extra muddy water flowing into treatment works.
In Lorraine, where water supply had already dried up, the fallout from the storm exacerbated problems.
Lorraine resident Lyn Haller said her household and others in the area were growing desperate.
“Together with 80% of Lorraine, barring a few drops that dribble out once a day, we’ve been without water since April 25.
“We don’t understand what’s going on. It is a nightmare.
“We spend all day carrying around bottles and buckets of water to use in the bathroom and kitchen,” she said.
Haller said she was aware of the metro’s communication on the electrical damage caused by the heavy rains and floods affecting the water supply last week.
“But our problem started well before the storm, so we don’t know what’s going on. People are fed up.”
Haller, who lives in a townhouse complex in Sedan Lane, said their washing was piling up.
“Friends offer to help but we can’t carry on like this. It’s embarrassing.
“So now we’re using the laundromat and that incurs a great cost.”
She said they boiled water and filled the bathroom basin to wash themselves.
“We also bring in water to fill the toilet cistern and wash dishes.
“We’re lucky to have a water tank so we’re helping others who don’t have one.”
Justin New of Montmedy Road in Lorraine said his water supply had likewise been off for about two weeks.
“At night it comes on, though not much, and with very poor pressure. By morning it’s off again.
“We’re lucky to have two tanks but they’re not plumbed into the house so we’re constantly back and forth carrying water.
“We use a watering can to fill the toilet cistern.
“We’re not happy with the quality of the water from the tanks, especially for washing clothes.
“I’ve turned off our geyser because it’s almost empty and I don’t want it to burn out.”
A father of two, who also lives in Sedan Avenue, said the water outage was a serious challenge.
“There is generally no water in the day.
“In the early hours you can hear the pipes starting to creak as some water comes into the system.
“But by the morning there’s just a few drops.”
He said they did not have water tanks.
“So I shower when I go to gym.”
He said there were two youngsters in the house and with school and sport, the laundry was piling up.
“My mom and sister-in-law help, and we use the laundromat as well, but of course that costs money.”
Pressed on the Lorraine situation, Bay infrastructure and engineering executive director Joseph Tsatsire said a number of problems had triggered a deficit of water in that area before the rains.
“This was caused by the dwindling western surface dam levels [combined dam levels were 36.8% last week before the storm], and the 25% restrictions imposed on them.”
The restriction, which came into force at the start of the year, was imposed by the national department of water and sanitation to prevent total supply failure.
It means the metro has had to reduce the water it draws from the dams by 25%.
Tsatsire said there were also operational failures.
“These include electrical disruptions in the bulk water distribution system.
“Lastly, water consumption was very high and still is.
“It is currently 380 megalitres per day compared to 280 megalitres a day, which is our recommended maximum.”
He said Lorraine was serviced by the Chelsea Reservoir.
“The system is highly compromised by turbidity, and all treatment works outputs are affected in this regard.
“It will likely take a week to fully restore water in all areas. It’s not only Lorraine that’s affected.”
In a statement earlier on Monday, the metro said “water storage levels remained very low and water consumption currently exceeded production, placing strain on the system and slow recovery”.
“The reduced production is mainly due to high turbidity [muddy water] that is above the design parameters of the treatment works.”
As a result, reservoir levels on Monday were: Chelsea 8%, Greenbushes 28%, Emerald Hill 18%, Heatherbank 1%, Lovemore 8%, Upper Lovemore 78%, Motherwell 1%, Airport 21%, Driftsands 1%, Bloemendal 23% and Chatty 36%.
The areas experiencing water disruptions include: Motherwell, iKamvelihle, Wells Estate, Bluewater Bay, St George’s, Walmer Township, Walmer (7th to 14th Avenue), Glen Hurd, Newton Park, Schauderville, Mangold Park, Greenacres, Perridgevale, Adcockvale, Parsons Hill, Glendinningvale, Mill Park, Linkside, Mount Croix, Richmond Hill, high-lying areas of Central, Rowallan Park, Greenbushes, Bridgemeade, Hunters Retreat, Kabega Park, Parsons Ridge, Parsonsvlei, Francis Evatt Park, Morningside, Baywest, Sherwood, Lorraine, Malabar, Barcelona, Gelvandale, Walmer Heights, Greenshields Park, Fairview, Walmer Downs, KwaNobuhle, parts of Westering, Amsterdamhoek, Deal Party, Swartkops, Overbaakens, Charlo, Broadwood, Miramar, Mount Pleasant, Providentia, Pari Park, Salisbury Park, Lovemore Heights, Sardinia Bay, Old Seaview Road/Deer Park, Helenvale, Algoa Park, Zwide, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas, Kwazakhele, Missionvale, Summerstrand, Humewood, Motherwell NU7 and 9, Markman Industrial, Wells Estate, Bluewater Bay, Reservoir Hills, higher lying parts of Khayamnandi and Joe Slovo West.
Sporadic supply is occurring in Scheepershoogte, Valleisig, Strelitzia Park, Fairbridge Heights, Winterhoek Park, Vanes Estate, higher-lying parts of Rosedale and Tiryville.
According to the statement, the Nooitgedacht Water treatment plant is continuing to operate at an increased and sustained output of 200 meglitres per day.
“Recovery efforts within the Motherwell zone show signs of improvement.
“Once supply stabilises in Motherwell, water will be boosted to Stanford and Chelsea.
“The Loerie, Churchill and Elandskloof water treatment works remain operational and continue producing water consistently.”
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