Nelson Mandela Bay metro police clamp down on water wasters

Nelson Mandela Bay residents who continue to waste water face stiff penalties.

The city’s metro police have launched a programme focusing on the enforcement of water restrictions.

Officers inspected five car washes and residential properties in New Brighton and Kwazakhele areas of the city on Wednesday.

Fines of up to R1,500 were issued for each transgression, and hosepipes used for washing cars were confiscated.

Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said under the latest restrictions, car-wash operators were prohibited from washing vehicles using a hosepipe.

Residents were also not allowed to irrigate gardens using municipal drinking water.

“The restrictions also prohibit the use of municipal drinking water for construction purposes,” Mniki said. 

Mayoral committee member for infrastructure and engineering, councillor Thsonono Buyeye, emphasised the low levels of the metro’s main supply dams, high consumption and insufficient rainfall.

“For some time now we have been running an intensive awareness programme to make our people understand the crisis we are facing.”

Buyeye said though the metro appreciated the efforts of some residents to decrease their consumption, it was time to intensify enforcement.

He said alternative water had been made available through boreholes that had been drilled across the metro and from the Fishwater Flats Treatment Works in Deal Party near New Brighton.

One of the major boreholes is at the Motherwell Cemetery in Addo Road.

“We encourage that these alternatives be used, as we do not want any local businesses to close because of the water crisis,” he said.

Mniki said the metro police, the municipal communications office, and the water services sub-directorate would continue with the programme across the city.

“The programme will not focus on enforcement only, but will also deal with water conservation awareness and the fixing of water leaks,” he said. 

The national water department said on Thursday that the drought-stricken Eastern Cape's water storage levels are at a stable 50.5% this week, albeit they are continuously going down week-on-week, TimesLIVE reported.

The Algoa Water Supply System, with dams supplying the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, is at a very low 10.1% this week, said the department. Fresh water is being supplied by the department to the metro with water tankers.

HeraldLIVE