Drought hits World Cup host stadium
Mar 09, 2010
PORT ELIZABETH - The green pitch at Port Elizabeth’s World Cup stadium has become an island in a sea of brown, exempt from water limits imposed due to a drought that has scorched the land outside.
PORT ELIZABETH - The green pitch at Port Elizabeth’s World Cup stadium has become an island in a sea of brown, exempt from water limits imposed due to a drought that has scorched the land outside.
Five people work day and night to maintain the grass inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, designed to resemble a flower that now appears to blossom from the baked earth.
“To reduce our water consumption, we water in the morning at two o’clock. It’s more economical,†said Rob Hitchens, manager at the 46,000-seat stadium that will host eight World Cup matches.The world’s biggest soccer event starts on June 11.
It’s the only stadium suffering from the drought along South Africa’s south
ern coast, and authorities
are scrambling to find solu
tions. “We are now implemented to investigate the possibility of filtering the lake water or storage tankers of water from elsewhere. Before the World Cup, we will be using reclaimed water,†Hitchens said.
“We want it as soon as possible because we are in a crisis.â€
Rains failed during the wet season now reaching an end, and the 11 reservoirs that supply the city are falling by five percent every month.
On March 1, they were at just 39 percent of capacity. The Churchill dam, which also serves two nearby cities, was at just 17 percent.
“During the World Cup, we should be fine. It’s after July that we are running in a very bad situation,†said Barry Martin, director of water and sanitation in Nelson Mandela Bay, the municipality that includes Port Elizabeth.
The surge in visitors during South Africa’s winter will send water consumption five percent higher than the summer peak, he said.The municipality is working out a “disaster plan†to ensure alternate water supplies, such as tapping underground water or desalinating sea water, he added.
In October, the municipality imposed water limits on its 1.1 milllion residents, and asked businesses and hotels to also reduce their water use.
Five people work day and night to maintain the grass inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, designed to resemble a flower that now appears to blossom from the baked earth.
“To reduce our water consumption, we water in the morning at two o’clock. It’s more economical,†said Rob Hitchens, manager at the 46,000-seat stadium that will host eight World Cup matches.The world’s biggest soccer event starts on June 11.
It’s the only stadium suffering from the drought along South Africa’s south
ern coast, and authorities
are scrambling to find solu
tions. “We are now implemented to investigate the possibility of filtering the lake water or storage tankers of water from elsewhere. Before the World Cup, we will be using reclaimed water,†Hitchens said.
“We want it as soon as possible because we are in a crisis.â€
Rains failed during the wet season now reaching an end, and the 11 reservoirs that supply the city are falling by five percent every month.
On March 1, they were at just 39 percent of capacity. The Churchill dam, which also serves two nearby cities, was at just 17 percent.
“During the World Cup, we should be fine. It’s after July that we are running in a very bad situation,†said Barry Martin, director of water and sanitation in Nelson Mandela Bay, the municipality that includes Port Elizabeth.
The surge in visitors during South Africa’s winter will send water consumption five percent higher than the summer peak, he said.The municipality is working out a “disaster plan†to ensure alternate water supplies, such as tapping underground water or desalinating sea water, he added.
In October, the municipality imposed water limits on its 1.1 milllion residents, and asked businesses and hotels to also reduce their water use.