Johannesburg – The Department of Water and Sanitation says it will release reserve water from the Free State’s Sterkfontein Dam to boost the nearly empty Vaal Dam in Gauteng.
“The plan is to release water before the Vaal Dam drops below 25% depending on the rate that the dam is dropping. The water will be released into the Nuwejaarspruit which joins the Wilge River in the outskirts of Harrismith flowing into the Vaal Dam. The release will be done in such a way to avoid flooding,” said spokesman Sputnik Ratau on Monday.
Sterkfontein Dam, which stores reserve water supply, was being used to avoid water crisis as dam levels across the country continued to drop due to a drought that has ravaged most parts of the country.
Owing to the drought, the department has so far declared the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West disaster areas.
The Vaal, which supplies various Gauteng municipalities and some of the neighbouring provinces, was at its lowest level of 26 percent, said Ratau.
Although some parts of the country experienced rainfall in recent days, it was not enough to bring relief to the country’s decreasing dam levels.
In Johannesburg, authorities warned that Level 3 water restrictions could be implemented if residents and businesses do not use water sparingly.
Water utility Joburg Water implemented Level 2 restrictions a few months ago, which prohibit users from watering gardens between 6am and 6pm. The use of hosepipes to wash cars and filling up of swimming pools is also prohibited.
Ekurhuleni metro said beginning this week it would implement water rationing measures between 9pm and 5am.
“Water rationing measures will initially be implemented every night starting from Monday, 7 November 2016. This means that there will be no water during this period in the affected areas. If these measures do not achieve the required 15 percent, the city will ration water during the day as well,” the metro said.
The Department of Water and Sanitation had instructed municipalities to curb water consumption by at least 15 percent.
So far, about 3 000 business units and 41,000 households in Ekurhuleni have exceeded their allocated water usage. Penalties levied during October amounted to R1.7 million, city officials said.
City of Tshwane’s water restrictions saw residents of Soshanguve left without water on Sunday. The reservoir levels had dropped dramatically due to high usage.
The city said the water supply was cut off in the area to allow reservoirs to recover. Water tanks were delivered to affected areas in the township.
African News Agency