Why is Gqeberha still ‘in a drought’ despite overflowing dams?

While the rest of the dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) are overflowing after recent torrential rains, the metro’s biggest supply dam, Impofu, is still only 42% full.

This is a huge increase from the same time last year. While this news is welcome, it does not spell the end of the eight-year drought that saw the metro diving into its water storage supplies.

ALSO READ: Eskom says coal pollution kills 330 South Africans a year, number could be higher

Metro authorities say the current water supply will only replenish what was used over the past eight years.

ALSO READ: ActionSA calls for intervention after food poisoning of 120 learners

DAMS HAVEN’T REACHED MINIMUM LEVELS

NMBM Water and Sanitation Director Barry Martin has said for the drought to be declared over, the water level in dams need to be at 50% to 60%.

ALSO READ: PICS: Dam overflows in George after record rainfall

“Where we currently are at the moment, we can’t even think about lifting restrictions,” he said. “The amount of water that we see here is just replenishing the water that we’ve extracted from this dam for the past eight years because of the drought.”

Martin added that the metro was still waiting for the Water and Sanitation Department to complete its assessment and come up with new water restrictions going into the new year.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Roads washed away, houses flooded in Overstrand

Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Zolile Burns-Ncamashe visited Nelson Mandela Bay to assess the situation.

“We can see the level of the dam. As summer approaches, we hope the summer rains will increase the water levels so that we can meet the demands of our communities,” he said.

AGEING INFRASTRUCTURE

NMBM infrastructure head Khanya Ngqisha, from the EFF, said his directorate would focus on improving the ageing infrastructure that has been in use since the 1960s.

ALSO READ: Gqeberha residents will soon be spared from load shedding

“It is a futile exercise to continue ploughing money into treated water that continues to be wasted,” Ngqisha said. “Between 30-40% of treated water goes to waste. We need to nip that in the bud. In other countries you hardly see any leaks. We need to fight vigorously against that.”

Ngqisha further stated that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality would launch an intensive campaign to communicate to residents that the city is not yet in the clear, and the drought remains a significant ongoing concern.