With the current drought and water restrictions implemented in the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) the town’s Mayor has urged citizens to treat water like gold.
Mzi Khumalo, RWCLM Executive Mayor, spoke during the municipality’s first consolidated Integrated Development Plan (IDP) stakeholder engagement session and focused largely on the town’s water situation.
Khumalo lamented about the drought the country is facing and said it poses a serious threat to the country’s water security.
“Even though there has been some rainfall in the past few weeks, we are not out of the woods yet as the Vaal Dam levels are still not at the levels that can sustain a consistent water supply,” he said.
He added that it is crucial that residents of both Randfontein and Westonaria use water sparingly.
“All water users, including businesses and agricultural sectors, must reduce their consumption for us to be able to comply with the 15 per cent requirement for residential users, and the 20 per cent requirement for agricultural users.
These restrictions have been gazetted,” he said.
Khumalo said if the town fails to comply with the requirements, the consequences will be too dire to contemplate as even more stringent restrictions will be imposed.
He assured listeners that the municipality will be exploring ways to work with the Department of Water and Sanitation to purify local mine acid water. “We have an abundance of it in our unused mines,” Khumalo said.
The municipality is also working with the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (GOGTA) to encourage residents to harvest rainwater to combat restrictions.
Read more on the water restrictions here:
Water restrictions for entire Rand West City
An update on water restrictions around the country
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