Kouga Municipality strikes water in Oyster Bay
Kouga Municipality struck potential new water at Oyster Bay this week as its plan to secure additional supply for the region gained momentum.
Executive Mayor Elza van Lingen said the municipality had appointed service provider Aurecon to drill for water at Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Oyster Bay, Hankey and Patensie.
“Our aim is to establish 18 new boreholes for the region, but the final number will depend on how deep we need to go before we strike water,” she explained.
Van Lingen said Oyster Bay had been prioritised for the first borehole as the town’s water supply levels were the most critical. Once a borehole has been established there, the operation will move on to Jeffreys Bay.
“We were very excited when the water started flowing at Oyster Bay on Monday. The water does, however, first need to be tested to determine its quality and the potential yield.
Testing is taking place this week and we expect the final results during the course of next week,” she said.
The Mayor said should this borehole prove viable, it would be as good as if the municipality had struck gold.
“The beauty of the location is that, depending on the final test results, we should be able to pump the water straight into the reservoir for distribution to households in the Oyster Bay area.”
She said possible sites have also been identified at Jeffreys Bay, including two boreholes no longer in use that could potentially be rehabilitated.
A potential new well field has further been identified for Humansdorp while a big fault line at Hankey and Patensie would be explored for water.