The dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay are full to overflowing.
Recent heavy rains have held our city back from another drought crisis, but the metro remains mired in a crisis of water management.
Despite the abundance of water in the dams, large sections of the metro are experiencing prolonged water outages, while other areas that do have water don’t trust the green, brown, cloudy and even muddy liquid coming out of their taps.
With the last spell of heavy rain and flooding occurring more than a month ago, it cannot be that failings continue to be weather-related.
Electricity outages, pump failures, water treatment works operating under capacity, and low reservoirs are ongoing problems.
Businesses and residents express frustrations with doing their duty to report leaks but seeing no action.
This while the municipality’s own reports state that more than 60% of treated water is “unbilled”, in other words clean water (paid for by the municipality and ratepayers) going down the drain of unattended leaks, pipe bursts, illegal connections and water billing-related issues.
The latest performance review by the department of water & sanitation paints a dismal picture of water treatment, distribution and sewerage systems on the brink of collapse, and multiple failures of compliance with water quality standards.
These are all concerns that have been consistently raised over the past three to four years by the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, the Civil Society Coalition, engineering and environmental experts, government oversight bodies and countless other stakeholders.
It is thus highly concerning to read that acting city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo, acknowledging the “unbearable” situation, plans to appoint consultants to identify problems in the water, sewerage and electricity networks and provide solutions.
The challenges are neither new nor unexpected. The management and operational issues are well-documented and have been known for some time.
They include deferred maintenance, inadequate human resources to respond to leaks and manage water losses, engineering skills shortages, procurement delays for essential chemicals and spare parts, the lack of electrical supply redundancy at the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works due to its single electrical supply, and unacceptably high non-revenue water losses.
Commissioning another consultant to investigate matters that are already understood is unlikely to deliver immediate relief to residents and businesses.
In the time taken to complete another study, there will still be months of water supply interruptions, while dam levels continue to drop.
What is needed now is not further diagnosis of known problems, but an action-oriented approach implementing practical solutions on the ground.
The focus should be on implementation and accountability, including:
- Resolving procurement challenges that continue to delay infrastructure maintenance and emergency response to leaks;
- Appointing and managing competent service providers to undertake routine maintenance, leak detection and repair, and pump repairs when failures occur;
- Developing and implementing a comprehensive Asset Care and Infrastructure Management Programme that incorporates a robust preventative maintenance strategy, adhered to consistently to minimise repeat failures, extend asset life, and reduce unplanned breakdowns;
- Providing a second electrical supply to the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works to ensure operational redundancy and significantly improve the resilience of this critical water supply infrastructure;
- Strengthening security, by deploying surveillance and monitoring at all critical water infrastructure facilities to reduce the risks of vandalism, theft and operational disruptions; and
- Establishing a long-term Capital Asset Management Programme to proactively address equipment obsolescence and ensure business continuity and security of water supply over the next 10 to 20 years.
It is also imperative to recognise the scale and complexity of the metro’s water reticulation network.
The system comprises thousands of kilometres of pipelines, reservoirs, pump stations and associated infrastructure of varying ages, material types and operating conditions.
Effective management of this network requires structured, risk-based asset management that prioritises maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement based on asset condition, criticality and lifecycle.
There is already a substantial body of technical information available that should enable informed decision making without commissioning yet another review.
We recommend the acting city manager consolidate and review all reports, studies and recommendations produced by the various consultants over the past five years.
This would significantly expedite implementation, eliminate duplication of work, and potentially save the metro millions of rand in consultancy fees that could instead be directed towards addressing the actual infrastructure challenges.
The metro does not lack information on the causes of the current crisis; it requires decisive leadership, effective programme management and disciplined execution of practical interventions.
While strategic planning remains important, the current situation demands urgent implementation to restore public confidence, improve service delivery, secure investments, and secure the long-term sustainability of Nelson Mandela Bay’s water infrastructure.
The necessary leadership, resources and accountability must now be directed towards implementing these solutions before the situation deteriorates further.
Business is ready to play its part in restoring the enabling environment in the Bay, and many committed municipal officials are willing to work with us.
All it takes is for the metro’s political leadership to put egos and agendas aside and accept the helping hand being offered.
Basil Mugwagwa is the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s water task team lead