Water consumption in Nelson Mandela Bay has increased despite the fact that the metro is experiencing one of its most severe droughts to date.
Rainfall figures for the region are at their lowest in 20 years.
Mayoral Committee Member for infrastructure and engineering, Annette Lovemore, has expressed concern over the increased consumption.
Lovemore said in a statement that average dam levels for the Algoa Water Supply System were at their lowest at 30.18% as of October 23.
She highlighted the negative economic and social impact the situation could have on communities.
The Kouga Dam – which is the largest dam in the metro, serving Nelson Mandela Bay, the Kouga municipality and the Gamtoos Valley – is currently at 13.46%.
Mayoral spokesperson Kristoff Adelbert attributed this to an increase in water usage and added that people were under the impression that the water situation was no longer dire.
A statement revealed that more than 1 500 households were using more than 40 kl of water per month and that September boasted an average consumption of 281 megalitres per day.
“September usage was high, possibly because of the rain over that past month. Of course, we urge all residents to continue being moderate when using water and to limit their water usage as dam levels remain low, despite rain,” Adelbert told News24.
Adelbert called for communities to revert to using water the way that they did in May, when water usage was at 258.99 megalitres per day.