Water levels still a concern
Behavioural changes seen in water consumption but a lot still needs to be done
The Vaal Dam is at its lowest level and will be supplemented with water from the Sterkfontein Dam to protect the 25 per cent minimum level.
The spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation, Mlimanlele Ndamase, said that the release from the Sterkfontein Dam will commence on 7 November. This will happen in a staggered fashion and start supplementing the water in the Vaal Dam. “The ministry has seen a behavioural change in Gauteng’s water usage, but a lot still needs to be done,” Ndamase said.
The manager of Marketing and Communications for Johannesburg Water (JW), Tidimalo Chuene, said that if the residents of the City of Johannesburg continue with their high water consumption and fail to reach the required 15 per cent reduction, they would have to revise the water restrictions from Level 2 and move on to Level 3. “Level 3 restrictions are different for each municipality – in Johannesburg it means water rationing, while in Cape Town it means no irrigation and very high tariffs,” Chuene said. Level 3 restrictions will mean that water will only be supplied during certain times of the day – either by shutting it down completely or limiting the flow by reduced pressure. This will usually happen for two hours a day, during peak hours.
It has already happened in Krugersdorp, Pretoria and some areas in the City of Johannesburg where the water supply has been restricted, leaving residents with either no water or very low pressure.
Anthony Still, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure said, “If a reservoir runs dry it can take days to restore – causing temporary water loss. Areas with a high consumption, as well as high-lying areas will experience forced reductions in usage. Areas that are receiving their water directly from Rand Water will also be more easily affected, as there is no reservoir or water tower to balance the supply.” He also reminded residents that this not a Johannesburg only matter as Tshwane is suffering from far more outages and Cape Town has already implemented Level 3 restrictions.
He concluded by reminding residents that there will be consequences if they do not comply with the current water restrictions.
“There is blatant disregard of the requirement that irrigation systems should be switched off at all times, and this will be addressed,” Still said.
Residents who will be affected by a reservoir running dry will be notified by JW via SMS to cut their water usage, to ensure they can make alternative arrangements.
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