With the average water level at five of its supply dams at only 26%, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber is planning a water security summit to find solutions to the water shortage.
“The plan should look at the short-, medium- and long-term needs of industry, population growth trends, models of direct investment, and other integrated development plans. We also have to develop an entirely new industry through desalination plants in the city,” said CEO of the NMB Business Chamber, Nomkhita Mona.
She pointed out that a recent survey conducted by the Chamber had revealed that 63% of the businesses in the metro had expressed concern that a lack of water security would force them to close down.
Agricultural producers are also affected with some 40% of oranges dropping off trees at farms in the Sundays River Valley last year, causing a major impact on the area’s fruit industry. If the drought continues, this will worsen.
