SOUTH COASTERS are being forced to reduce their water consumption as the Ugu District battles its worst drought ever.
Below average rainfall in the past few months has led to worsening drought conditions and the South Coast is in crisis.
So said Ugu District Municipality at a media briefing earlier today.
The Bhobhoyi dam, which supplies water to most areas under the Hibiscus Coast urban and rural strip, has dropped to its lowest level ever due to the ongoing drought. This caused most areas around Port Shepstone to experience constrained water supply over the weekend.
With the Umzimkulu river mouth closed, the municipality had no choice but to wait for the the tide to ebb before attempting to breach the river mouth.
During this time, the salt levels in the river rose substantially, with no supply from the off-channel storage dam. This led the municipality to shutdown production while it consulted with provincial and national offices on the status of supply.
This shutdown led to the lack of supply to Margate Extension 3, Gamalakhe and Albersville over the weekend.
Those living between Hibberdene and Ramsgate will during this period of ‘abstraction of water from the river’ be subjected to water with a high salt content coming from their taps.
The municipality says it will ‘continuously monitor the water situation in an effort to ensure that water quality standard is not being compromised’.
Certain high lying areas of Gamalakhe and Murchison will have no water while the system is trying to stabilise as there is currently high demand being exerted, said Ugu spokesman France Zama.
“We are however, making efforts to provide water relief through our limited water tankers. And the lack of rainfall is exacerbating the situation as this comes at a time when the entire province is trying to get to grips with the worst drought experienced in years,” he added.
The municipality acknowledges that the water currently produced for these areas is ‘not drinkable although it meets other compliant requirements’ and those affected are advised to confine their water usage to ‘all other usages except drinking’.
Alternative water for drinking purposes from other sources of supply will be provided at various locations within affected areas.
“The drought requires all of us to work together in ensuring that we save each and every drop of water,” said Mr Zama.
