The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality acknowledges the severe frustration and hardship experienced by residents affected by ongoing water outages across the metro and wishes to assure communities that intensive recovery operations are continuing around the clock to restore safe and reliable water supply as quickly and responsibly as possible. In a significant step towards stabilising the metro’s water network, the Nooitgedagt Water Treatment Works is now fully back online and operating with two low lift pumps and three high lift pumps, currently producing approximately 180 megalitres per day, although operations remain below full capacity due to continued high turbidity levels affecting raw water quality. Municipal engineers, technicians, operators and disaster response teams remain fully deployed across affected areas to rebuild reservoir capacity, stabilise system pressure and accelerate recovery to households, schools, healthcare facilities and businesses experiencing prolonged supply disruptions.
As flows continue improving, supply into the Kariega area is expected to stabilise further. Pumping from the Van Riebeeck Reservoir is scheduled to commence tonight to replenish the depleted system. Recovery operations will continue overnight, with customers in affected Kariega areas expected to begin experiencing a gradual return of pressure after lunchtime tomorrow.
Areas supplied by the Kabah Water Treatment Works remain affected. While electrical repairs have been successfully completed, infrastructure safety protocols require adequate curing time before operations can safely resume. The plant is anticipated to restart after midnight tonight, after which production capacity will gradually increase while the system is carefully refilled. Recovery to affected communities is similarly expected after lunchtime tomorrow.
On the southwestern side of the metro, gradual improvement is being observed across key reservoirs. Emerald Hill Reservoir is currently at 17%, while Drift Sands and Airport reservoirs are averaging approximately 30%, indicating steady recovery within the system. Efforts are underway to further improve storage levels at Emerald Hill to enable pumping to the Adcock Bank and Lovemore Heights reservoirs by tomorrow, subject to current system demand and consumption patterns.
At the Loerie Water Treatment Works, treatment processes have improved significantly and the plant is currently producing approximately 60 megalitres per day. This additional capacity is being directed to Chelsea Reservoir to strengthen supply to western areas, particularly the upper parts of Lorraine and Rowallan Park, which have experienced severe depletion in recent days.
The Municipality is also encouraged by progress within the Churchill supply system, which has thus far supported Emerald Hill Reservoir. Pumping to Greenbushes Reservoir is expected to commence shortly to further strengthen storage levels and network stability across affected communities.
Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe said restoring stable water supply while safeguarding public health remains the Municipality’s immediate priority.
“We fully understand the impact these outages are having on residents, families, businesses and vulnerable communities across the metro. Our teams continue working around the clock under difficult conditions to restore supply safely and responsibly. While the system is steadily recovering, we appeal to residents to continue using water sparingly once supply returns, as responsible consumption remains critical to rebuilding reservoir levels and accelerating recovery across all affected areas.”
The Municipality wishes to assure residents that strict water quality monitoring, infrastructure assessments and operational safety protocols remain fully enforced throughout the recovery process. Infrastructure will only be brought back online once engineers and technical teams are satisfied that it is safe, stable and compliant to do so.
Residents who currently have water supply are urged to continue using water responsibly and only for essential household purposes during this critical recovery phase. Excessive consumption places additional strain on reservoirs and may delay the restoration of stable supply to severely affected communities.
The Municipality sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused and thanks residents for their continued patience, resilience and cooperation as recovery efforts continue across the metro.
