A perfect storm of failing infrastructure, soaring demand, power outages and sabotage has plunged Nelson Mandela Bay into a water crisis, with large parts of the metro facing intermittent supply or none at all.
In recent weeks, the metro has battled an overlapping series of setbacks from pipe bursts and pump failures to rolling power dips and reduced production at key treatment plants.
As the municipality works to stabilise supply, officials warn that full recovery will take time, especially with a scheduled shutdown at the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works set to strain further.
Meanwhile, residents say even the most basic tasks — like taking a shower — have become an ordeal, while businesses are bleeding money just to secure enough water to stay operational.
Nelson Mandela Bay is still losing the war on leaks, with more than half its potable water — 57.62%, or 73.71-million kilolitres — vanishing in 2024/2025.
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen said the metro was heading towards another water management crisis.
She said this was due to a combination of rapidly declining dam levels, the inability to rein in unaccounted water losses tracking at well over 50%, insufficient safety and security support deployed to water pump stations and the ongoing increase in water consumption levels.
“All these water disruption issues highlight the reactive, fire-fighting approach to the management of the metro’s water infrastructure,” she said.
Van Huyssteen said a structured programme had to be implemented to ensure proactive, planned and ongoing maintenance of the metro’s water infrastructure took place.
“Aligned with this, sufficient capital expansion projects must be included in the plan to ensure that the infrastructure adjusts in line with population growth trends.”
Nigel Newsome, who has been living in Bushy Park for 13 years, said the water issue had been getting worse.
“We are in a double-storey house slightly elevated from the bottom of Bushy Park,” he said.
“We now have to choose from washing the dishes downstairs or taking a shower upstairs, and even then it’s a balancing act between the cold and hot water because of the pressure.”
He said the problem was being worsened by the municipality’s failure to perform maintenance while passing the blame to residents for excessive usage.
“The other problem in this area is that the system is old. It’s one of the oldest suburbs in [Gqeberha], but the developments are ongoing.
“Are they paying to upgrade the system? I do not think so. All they do is just turn up the water pressure.
“They keep talking about excessive usage, but if you are leaking about 60% of your water, people are only using 40%.”
The city lost 19.27-million kilolitres of non-revenue water in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, amounting to 58% of its supply.
KwaNobuhle resident Luyanda Jibiliza said they had been without water for weeks.
This situation, he said, could go on for a further three weeks.
He said living without running water affected families busy with traditional ceremonies.
“The municipality knows about it. The mayor was also here [at some point], and she knows our water challenges.”
Lisa Potgieter, who also did not have any water for two days in Mount Pleasant, said they were becoming more reliant on their tanks.
She said when they did have water, the level of chlorine was too high.
“You can’t drink it, and I also can’t use it for my pets,” she said.
“We now have to spend more buying water.”
In Beverley Grove, while the outages have not been as acute, resident Jacquie Denny said the low pressure made it difficult to do laundry.
Meanwhile, the owner of a laundromat at the Cape View centre complex in Kabega Park, who did not want to be named, said the outages in the area were frequent and now crippling his business.
He said he had to buy water daily to fill his 2,500l tanks to keep the business open.
“It’s very bad, there is no service from the municipality,” he said.
“I am paying R180 for every thousand litres, so you do the math on how much we have to pay every day.”
According to municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya, the intermittent water cuts had been caused by a combination of pipe bursts, pump failures, power outages and high water consumption.
This has been coupled with vandalism and ongoing upgrades to Nooitgedacht.
“A major leak caused by deliberate damage on the Motherwell-Chelsea pipeline forced the replacement of a 700mm valve, which halted water transfers from Nooitgedacht for 24 hours,” Soyaya said.
“These events have placed significant pressure on the network and slowed the recovery of reservoir levels.
“Nooitgedacht, one of the metro’s main supply sources, recently underwent essential upgrades to improve long-term reliability, including the installation of a new industrial compressor.
“While these improvements were under way, the plant operated at a reduced capacity, at times producing between 160-million and 180-million litres per day instead of its usual output.
“This resulted in a production deficit of approximately 20-million litres per day.”
The plant is now producing about 200-million litres of water a day.
However, because supply had to travel a considerable distance through the bulk system, he said, full recovery in some areas might still take time.
Water consumption had also shot up to 400-million litres per day, while the system was designed to supply 280-million litres per day.
“When water is consumed almost as fast as it is supplied, reservoirs cannot build reserves, making the system vulnerable to even minor disruptions,” Soyaya said.
“Further challenges were experienced when key facilities such as the Loerie Water Treatment Works experienced power outages on November 16, 27 and 30, while the Motherwell Pump Station was affected by an outage on November 25.
“Even brief electricity dips can cause pumps at Nooitgedacht to trip, requiring specialist mechanical and electrical teams to restart them.”
Van Huyssteen said it was concerning that added pressure on the water reticulation system would arise during the upcoming summer season as additional visitors came to the metro and water consumption increased further.
“The planned maintenance work Eskom is undertaking is key to ensuring stability and continuity of electricity supply to the metro.
“By the same token, the metro should be undertaking similar maintenance work on its water infrastructure.
“As Nooitgedacht is a critical access point to ensuring continuity of water supply to most parts of the metro, plans should have been implemented to ensure that the required back-up power supply and security were in place to ensure the continuity of its operations.”
She said urgent action was required to ensure proactive water infrastructure planning, management and maintenance was in place.
The Herald
