Dams full, taps dry: How Nelson Mandela Bay lost control of its water

Large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay continue to suffer prolonged electricity and water outages, with the municipality attributing the disruptions to recent adverse weather, despite residents enduring service disruption long before.

Several water outages lasting between four weeks and four months have been reported in parts of the city, including areas such as Lorraine and Lapland in Kariega, while electricity supply interruptions have also been recorded.

DA ward councillor Gustav Rautenbach told a council meeting on 13 May that parts of his ward had been without water for more than 20 days. Affected areas include parts of Lorraine and Kamma Park. The problem started long before the floods, said Rautenbach.

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“Water works cannot find a fault. I do not know why. We need urgent intervention to address the problem in that section of my ward that is without water. We cannot accept it. Water is a basic right,” he said.

“There is something else wrong other than the flood that has just hit us. We need to appoint an independent investigation panel to determine the problem and come forward with solutions. Unfortunately, our water works department is not in a position to do that,” Rautenbach said.

PA councillor Alvera de Vos said frustrations in parts of Kariega had spilled into the streets because of the prolonged outages.

She said residents in Lapland had been without water for four months, while several other areas had experienced electricity outages for more than two weeks.

Mayor Babalwa Lobishe told council the city was aware of the “pain” of residents with no water service while dams were full. She said, “It is a natural disaster that has negatively affected the flow of water”.

The municipality said on 13 May that the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works was back on line and producing about 180 megalitres of water a day, although operations remained below full capacity because of poor raw water quality caused by high turbidity levels.

Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said that as the flow improved, supply into the Kariega area was expected to stabilise. He said pumping from the Van Riebeeck Reservoir was scheduled to begin on Wednesday evening to replenish the depleted system. Recovery operations will continue through the night, with customers in affected parts of Kariega expected to have a gradual return of pressure after lunchtime on 14 May 2026.

Soyaya said areas supplied by the Kabah Water Treatment Works remained affected despite electrical repairs having been completed. He said the plant was expected to restart after midnight on Wednesday, once infrastructure safety protocols and curing processes had been completed, with water supply to affected communities anticipated to recover gradually from Thursday afternoon.

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The municipality said reservoir levels on the southwestern side of the metro were showing signs of recovery, with Emerald Hill Reservoir at 17%, while Driftsands and Airport reservoirs were averaging about 30%.

Soyaya said efforts were under way to improve storage levels at Emerald Hill Reservoir to enable pumping to the Adcock Bank and Lovemore Heights reservoirs.

The Loerie Water Treatment Works was, meanwhile, producing about 60 megalitres of water a day, with additional capacity being directed to Chelsea Reservoir to improve supply to western areas, particularly higher-lying parts of Lorraine and Rowallan Park.

ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said that the metro’s widespread water outages, caused by turbidity, could have been avoided had the city done more to properly maintain and upgrade these facilities.

“It is unacceptable that residents must sit with dry taps while dams are full. The municipality must plan, improve maintenance and ensure that treatment plants have the capacity, the equipment, chemicals and emergency measures to keep water flowing into reservoirs. Water is not a luxury, it is a basic service – action, not excuses,” he said.

The metro said on 14 May that water tankers had been deployed to the following areas:

• Jupiter Street, Helenvale;
• Swannage Street, Young Park;
• Missionvale Road, Salt Pan;
• Strathsomer Street, Korsten;
• Mahlangu Road, New Brighton;
• Mthimkhulu Street, Govan Mbeki; and
• Buffelsfontein Road, Walmer.

Widespread electricity outages

In addition to the water outages, several parts of the metro continue to undergo electricity outages, with repairs being delayed due to a shortage of contractors.

DA councillor and party spokesperson for electricity and energy Ondela Kepe said more than 1,062 faults had been reported across the metro.

In Kariega, 161 electrical faults had been reported, says Grootboom. He said that there were now about 50 underground faults. That is well over 200 electricity faults. Grootboom expressed deep concern over the lack of capacity, in particular contractors to do repair work.

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality could not on Thursday provide a comprehensive list of affected areas or estimated restoration timelines.

Lobishe said the City had instructed the electricity and energy department to increase capacity by bringing in private-sector assistance. She said repair teams had attempted to carry out work on 12 May, but adverse weather conditions caused delays.

Kepe said he had written to acting city manager Charity Sihunu on 14 May concerning the North Depot, which he said was dealing with more than 500 outages alone.

“North Depot accounts for well over 50% of the outages, which makes sense because it services 28 wards — almost half the metro. I wrote to the acting city manager yesterday, saying it is the most understaffed and under-resourced depot, yet it is responsible for the highest number of wards,” Kepe said.

“We need to ensure we have short-term contractors in place to assist. The Uitenhage depot is also struggling with the backlog. Wherever assistance is needed, contractors must be deployed,” he added.

Kepe said that during a sitting of the Joint Operations Centre, established in response to the floods, senior city officials were unable to confirm how many contractors had been appointed, when work would begin or at which depots they would be stationed. DM