Ironman thirst leads to record low
Increased demand from athletes affects water supply
As thousands of athletes take to the water and roads along Port Elizabeth’s beachfront in search of Ironman glory and new records from Saturday, city authorities will be fighting to prevent new records of an entirely different nature – that of water consumption.
This comes as Nelson Mandela Bay’s total available water supply on Wednesday hit a startling, record-low of 17.95% of its total supply capacity.
Simultaneously, and as an estimated 16,000 visitors flooded into the city ahead of the Isuzu Ironman 70.3 World Championship, the metro’s average daily water consumption has surged, at times up to about 10%.
The increase in water usage has been attributed largely to the visiting competitors, their supporters and spectators who, by Thursday, had booked out all but three rooms (smoking) of all major accommodation offerings on the waterfront.
Nelson Mandela Bay municipality spokesperson Kupido Baron confirmed the Bay’s latest water supply levels, and the surge in daily water consumption, saying this had been recorded for the week leading up to the event.
While Baron did not provide any projections for total water consumption for the weekend, he revealed that normal usage in the Bay was an average of 260 megalitres a day.
The increased demand for water is expected to have an impact on current overall water supply for the region.
Water levels at the Bay’s main water supply dams, are: Kouga 6.76%, Churchill 16.27%, Impofu 27.55% and Groendal Dam at 39.18%.
The city has sunk R44.5m into the Ironman event.
The costs include host city fees of R8.5m, the provision of services at a cost of R8m and expenditure on roads in the amount of R28m.
These costs exclude complimentary accommodation – 340 rooms – which the metro is obliged to pay for, along with the costs of winner trophies. Municipal executive director for sports, recreation, arts and culture Noxolo Nqwazi said on Thursday the economic spin-off for the city could total about R400m.
Three water tankers with recycled water will be placed along the beachfront to supplement the shower systems for the 4,500 competitors and the thousands of spectators.
Metro officials will also be encouraging water saving.
While Bay hotel managers are actively promoting water conservation, most expect to experience a spike in consumption over the weekend.
Radisson Blu deputy manager Mark Huppelschoten said the hotel had “pulled the plug” on water wastage, but said it was expecting to field high water consumption.
“We are trying to reduce the per-head water use through changing the water pressure, taking bath plugs out of the baths, signs and brochures, but it is inevitable that we will have increased usage.”
A manager at the Town Lodge, who asked not to be named, said athletes showered as often as three times a day after training sessions and before bed “not to mention the thousands of flushes of toilets along the beachfront daily”.
With rain predicted for next weekend, authorities are hoping it falls over dam catchment areas.
The Bay region’s last rains – which were as much as 37mm in some areas in the period around Women’s Day – provided less than a percentage increase in overall dam levels.
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