We have to start conserving water

The news that many parts of Johannesburg will have their water supply throttled back due to restrictions on the Rand Water network of up to 20% is a timely reminder that we should not take this precious commodity for granted.

While the Vaal Dam level was at just over 88% full on Thursday last week and the Sterkfontein Dam (the major supplement for the Vaal River system) was on 100%, there is no reason for complacency. We still have at least two or three months before our main summer rains arrive in Gauteng.

Already, according to Rand Water, the water demand is soaring and consistently exceeding supply.

The reality is that our water supply infrastructure is not in a good state of repair, with millions of litres of water going to waste every day through broken or cracked pipes.

Replacing that infrastructure is a slow and expensive process – and will still not help the ultimate problem, which is that Gauteng’s population is growing far faster than the water supply.

Most parts of southern Africa are semi-desert in hydrological terms – and climate change will only make that situation worse.

We need to start seriously conserving water and put an end to our waste of our most essential element.