Nelson Mandela Bay: Nelson Mandela Bay’s dam levels have dropped to 38,63% as of 01 April 2026. With 8,99% of this classified as dead storage, the metro is left with only 29,64% of usable water. This is no longer an early warning; it is a crisis unfolding in real time.
The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that 63% of water losses in the metro are unaccounted for, making Nelson Mandela Bay the highest water-losing metro in the country. With usable dam levels now hovering below the 30% mark, the room for delay or complacency has effectively run out.
Denise van Huyssteen, Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, said the scale of the water management crisis demands immediate and practical action.
“The reality is stark: we are running out of water, and the system is failing to safeguard what remains. Businesses cannot afford to wait for ideal conditions or perfect policy responses. The time to act is now.”
“This is an emergency! We need the Municipality to take urgent action to rein in the water losses by addressing infrastructure backlogs such as fixing leaks, proactively maintaining the reticulation system, dealing with meter tampering and incorrect billing issues, and also properly securing pump-stations to prevent vandalism.”
The Chamber is calling on businesses across the metro to take decisive steps within their control. This includes fixing leaks on their premises without delay, reducing water consumption and investing in reuse and recycling measures, adopting a school to support water-saving initiatives and awareness, and putting back-up water systems in place as they would for power outages.
Residents are equally urged to reduce consumption, eliminate household leaks and use water as sparingly and efficiently as possible.
“Water resilience must now be treated with the same urgency as energy security. Every litre saved today helps to extend the viability of our city tomorrow,” Van Huyssteen said.
The Chamber cautions that without urgent intervention, both at a system level and by all water users, the metro risks moving rapidly towards severe water shedding events, with significant consequences for the local economy and will place additional strain on already vulnerable communities.
Through its relaunched Adopt a School initiative, 35 schools, including one clinic, have been adopted by local businesses. These interventions are helping to curb leaks, protect critical infrastructure and strengthen resilience from the ground up, but far greater scale and urgency are now required.
