MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Some facts around our water supply

By

And you thought that getting water to your tap was easy?

  • The metro currently services 218 000 water connections
  • 3 – 5 000 families connect to the Metro water system each year.
  • We consumed 230 megalitres per day in 2011
  • Our water consumption has increased by 8.6% in the last 24 months.
  • Before the last drought the public was informed when dam levels were at 60%.
  • The warning signals in 2013 have gone out when the dam levels reached 84%
  • The last drought was broken with rainfall in excess of 200 mm in June 2011.
  • In 2008/9 we had the lowest rainfall ever since 1900.
  • Since October last year we have only met the 20 year average rainfall for only two months – June and August of 2013.
  • Our drought cycle is a 4 year one
  • The Weather service is predicting a 35 – 40% chance of below average rainfall over our catchment area between now and February 2014.
  • The accepted water loss norm for non revenue water on the internal networks (from reservoir to tap) is currently 25% and the accepted international norm is 15%
  • 100 000 households in the metro receive some form of municipal (ratepayer) assistance to the poor (ATTP) – 260 litres of water per day is free (along with a 100% rates rebate, free removal of 11 kilolitres of sewerage, free refuse removal and up to 75 kWh of free electricity per month.
  • Water leaks inside ATTP residents are repaired free of charge.
The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.