NMBM executive mayor Eugene Johnson leading the charge against water leaks in Kariega on Saturday
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has met, and far exceeded, the challenge posed by Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, of eradicating a backlog of persistent water leaks. Earlier yesterday morning (Tuesday, 5 July), and on the way to inspecting one of the severely drought-affected dams in the region, the Churchill Dam in Kouga, the Metro confirmed that a total of 3 655 water leaks have been successfully repaired in just 14 days since the commitment was made on 20 June.
Over the past weekend, on Saturday, Nelson Mandela Executive Mayor, Cllr Eugene Johnson, led a brigade of water leak repairers in Kariega, encouraging them to accelerate their efforts in the fight to push back day zero.
Mayor Johnson was emphatic: “It is within our hands, it is up to each one of us to do our bit to win this fight on water leaks. When we do so, we will make sure that every drop is saved, and that water is made available equitably to all in the Bay.
“As we do, we must carry this message home, that water is life; we should all reduce water consumption now by aiming for less than 50 litres per day per person,” said Johnson.
NMB JOC Spokesperson, Luvuyo Bangazi, says: “Across the world, water leaks are a present phenomenon in water distribution, but Nelson Mandela Bay and South Africa face a double whammy of ageing infrastructure and the scourge of vandalism of public infrastructure. So, to eradicate water leaks completely is an ambitious goal, but in practice, leaks will appear, and as the Metro ramps up communication, more leaks will be found and reported, so we need to move faster in closing them down, not a minute longer than is necessary.”
On the water consumption trend, Bangazi said: “Water produced for consumption on Tuesday morning was 249ml/d, a slight increase of 3ml/d when compared to Monday’s 246ml/d, with current useable dam storage also slightly up to 2.32% from 2.29% recorded on Monday.”
The trend is encouraging; we see the usual fluctuations, but overall, over a 100-day period, there is a definite downward trend in the seven-day average. We continue to ask water users to use water sparingly, recycle grey water for sanitation, and don’t flush it’s yellow, you’ll save between five and nine litres,” concluded Bangazi.
For reliable, verifiable information and useful water saving tips, go to:
Web – www.baywatersavers.co.za
Mobile – save (064 744 7721) and message Water via WhatsApp to activate
Join the Water Savers Community at https://www.facebook.com/BayWaterSavers
Issued by Luvuyo Bangazi, NMBM JOC Spokesperson.