Oil company PetroSA will run out of water at its refinery in Mossel Bay by the end of October and may be forced to close temporarily.

It is not only the refinery that is running on empty. The town of Mossel Bay has between 97 and 126 days before it, too, runs out of water, municipal officials told visiting members of the Western Cape provincial legislature (MPLs) on Thursday.

The gas-to-liquid (GTL) refinery will run out of water within 46 to 56 days time, its operations manager, Michael Nene, said at the meeting with the provincial legislature.

Addressing the MPLs, who are on an oversight visit in the area, Mossel Bay's Johan du Preez said the Wolwedans Dam's water levels were at 16.62 percent on Wednesday. It is the biggest dam in the area.

He said four emergency water supply projects were in the pipeline: a wastewater treatment plant, groundwater extraction, water recovery from the Hartebeestkuil Dam; and a seawater desalination plant.

Mossel Bay's municipal manager, Dr Michele Gratz, said the desalination plant would cost about R210 million and that PetroSA had promised to contribute R80m.

Gratz said running the desalination plant would cost R100 000 a day or R36m a year. Electricity costs will be R50 000 a day.

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