On November 1, the Tzaneen Greater Municipality (GTM) announced a water shedding program for all residential areas and the Central Business District (CBD) of Tzaneen with immediate effect.
According to a notice of water shedding in areas of the GTM that was issued last week by the Municipal Manager, BS Matlala, the water use license issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation allows for 1 230 000 (cubic metres) of water per annum but due to an increase in demand in Tzaneen, the actual raw water abstracted from the Tzaneen Dam has risen to 2 416 680 (cubic metres) per annum.
The said notice mentions that it is highly possible that the Tzaneen Dam may reach dead storage within the next three months due to high peak summer demands.
Numerous civic organisations and local businesses are unhappy about the situation not to mention private households who all will be disrupted by the effect of water shedding.
People in the informal sector might lose their jobs due to small businesses not being able to operate without water. Is the correct procedure to follow not to issue fines the LETABA HERALD wanted to know from the GTM?
According to Neville Ndlala, spokesperson of the GTM, issuing of fines is a process which will only show minimal results three months after implementation. “We have to react now to manage the situation in order to prevent a crisis,” he told the HERALD.
“The Service Level Agreement between the GTM and the Department of Water and Sanitaion allows the GTM to implement water shedding when deemed necessary,” said Aluwani Gangashe, Manager of Water and Sewer of the Engineering Department of the GTM.
The notice stated that the shedding program will commence from November 1 but by the time of going to press, water was still being supplied as normal, creating doubt over the seriousness of the GTM regarding this matter.
“Implementation of the water shedding program has been postponed by a week due to visitors from Johannesburg but will definitely commence the week thereafter,” said Gangashe.
The over-abstraction of raw water from the Tzaneen Dam is currently 1 186 680 (cubic metres) this year to date and is mainly the result of the expansion of Tzaneen and surrounding areas. Apart from the scheduled shedding, the following restrictions are effective immediately: No filling of swimming pools (consumers are encouraged to treat the water instead of draining and filling up with fresh purified water), no washing of cars and paving with hosepipes, no watering or irrigating of gardens.
Residents are also advised to do the following: Reduce showering time, do not use water excessively and unnecessarily and report any pipe bursts or leaks ASAP to the GTM.
