LETTER | Nelson Mandela Bay metro needs to wake up over growing water crisis

Nelson Mandela Bay is once again edging dangerously close to a water crisis, yet this reality has been largely absent from the metro’s public messaging.

While residents and visitors were bombarded (during the festive season) with daily promotions of events, beaches and recreational activities, there was little to no communication about dwindling water supplies and the urgent need for conservation.

The Bay’s amenities and tourism economy are important, and the municipality is right to promote them.

But celebrating a festive season without simultaneously warning of an escalating water shortage reflects a failure to prioritise long-term water security.

This is what every resident needs to know right now:

• Our available water (dams) is fast approaching 40%.

• In September 2025 non-revenue water stood at 60.4%. This refers to water that the municipality pays for but receives no revenue/payment in return.

• Also, in September 2025, water losses equalled 56%, up from 45% in August 2025.

• Our multimillion-rand boreholes are producing less than 40% of the design capacity.

On December 4 2025 council appointed an executive director of infrastructure and engineering. Water management falls within his mandate.

This is a plea to the municipality, and particularly to the new executive director, to take the drought threat seriously.

Of course, the municipal communications department must accept its responsibility in this regard.

During the last drought, the municipality had to insource a communications capability to manage the issue.

Since this department has now demonstrated how capable it is at promoting recreational activities, it should also be able to communicate effectively about the water crisis.

We have had a lovely, sunny festive season.

Somehow we forgot to remind our residents and visitors to save water.

The fact that the DA-run Kouga municipality did the responsible thing by reminding people, every day, to have fun and to save water, stands in stark contrast to Nelson Mandela Bay’s approach.

Did we not learn from having faced Day Zero not so long ago?

After our last good rains, the municipality did not apply its mind judiciously.

It decided to keep the punitive water tariffs (even though the budget and treasury department said this was negative to the collection rate) and removed household restrictions.

But what is done is done.

Please, let us not allow a water shortage to turn into a water crisis through a crisis of management.

Additional, or more stringent, water restrictions are possible in the near future.

Let us remember “we are in this together” and support the restrictions.

It will be counterproductive to ignore the restrictions just because the government of the day has been asleep at the wheel.