Water Restored in Nelson Mandela Bay After Canal Repairs

Led by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the project aimed to bolster the reliability and sustainability of water supply to residents of Nelson Mandela Bay.

Residents of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality began receiving water on Wednesday morning after completion of repairs to the Sundays River Canal, which had been undergoing a 10-day rehabilitation project starting on June 24, 2024.

Led by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the project aimed to bolster the reliability and sustainability of water supply to residents of Nelson Mandela Bay.

The repairs to the Lower Sundays River Canal were crucial for the municipality’s water reticulation system, which had experienced heightened risk due to the canal's issues.

The Lower Sundays River Canal is integral to the Lower Sunday’s Government Water Scheme (LSGWS), a part of the broader Orange-Fish-Sundays Inter Basin Transfer Scheme. Annually, it transports 740 million kilolitres of water from the Gariep Dam to the Eastern Cape via the 80km Orange-Fish Tunnel.

The repair work was necessitated by an incident in May 2017 when a section of the canal embankment collapsed approximately 4.4km south of Enon. Subsequently, a temporary embankment using a plastic membrane was constructed by the Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure continuous water supply. However, a secondary embankment failure occurred 200m downstream from the initial failure.

The rehabilitation efforts involved demolishing and rebuilding sections of the canal at the upstream and downstream tie-in points.

According to the municipality, the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works is currently producing an average of 120 megalitres per day. As of the latest update, the Motherwell Reservoir stands at 27% capacity, with Grassridge and Oliphant Kop showing increases to 23% and 32%, respectively.

"Most low-lying areas have resumed receiving water, although high-lying areas around NU 8, 9, 10, and 11 are still pending. Water trucks will continue to serve the Motherwell area," the municipality stated in a Wednesday announcement.

Additionally, the Bloemendal and Bethelsdorp reservoirs are reporting increases with average levels at 9%, signaling the system's recovery and imminent water restoration to affected Northern region areas, starting from lower-lying zones.

Planned Water Shutdown: In a separate notice, the municipality informed residents of a planned water shutdown on Thursday, July 4, 2024, affecting South End and Forest Hill. The shutdown will occur from 8am to 5pm to facilitate maintenance on the water pipe network.