If Hazelmere dries up…
Hazelmere Dam still has enough water to last until December.
Sembcorp Siza Water’s (SSW) customers have consistently achieved the highest water saving rate within the Ilembe district and as such SSW managing director, Shyam Misra has asked Umgeni Water for extra water over the busy December holiday period.
The water restrictions have been relaxed from 50 to 30 percent but Ballito is still consistently saving 40 percent of their normal consumption per month while other areas have been saving in the mid to upper thirties.
While commercial users are only restricted by 10 percent, Misra said it was compulsory for car washes to use water recycling systems if they wanted to remain open during the drought.
“We are only enforcing a 10 percent restriction on commercial users because we do not want to see people lose their jobs because of restrictions” said Misra.
The department of water and sanitation (DWS) recently announced that Hazelmere Dam still had enough water to last until the end of December, keeping their fingers crossed for spring and summer rains to refill the dam.
In the event of the rain not coming and the dam drying up, Misra said SSW would still be able to provide water until the Lower Tugela Bulk Water Supply scheme comes online in April next year (as promised by Umgeni Water), because they were in the process of drilling a number of boreholes and building the water recycling station.
He said they would be able to supply 1.5 million litres per day from boreholes and an additional four to five million litres from the recycling plant, depending on the inflow of water to the plant. At a 40 percent saving, Ballito uses eight point seven million litres per day and should the dam dry up, Misra said they would be able to supply between about five and a half and seven million litres per day.
