Use water sparingly, urges City
08 November 2015
As the heat wave persists and dam levels continue to plummet as a result of the lack of rains, the City of Johannesburg has reiterated its plea to consumers to use water responsibly and sparingly.
Lungile Dlamini, Managing Director of Johannesburg Water, the City’s water and sanitation entity, has strongly urged residents to refrain from watering their gardens between 6am and 6pm and filling their swimming pools as the drought continues to worsen.
Dlamini, however, has insisted that these are not water restrictions but “mitigating measures” against the drought.
“Water restrictions are austerity measures implemented under extreme drought conditions. In such situations, water is made available at certain times of the day, with total interruption on the balance of the day or week,” he says.
Rand Water, from which Johannesburg Water receives its bulk water supply, has predicted that dam levels could drop to as low as 29.7% by January 2016 should the situation not improve.
“As the City of Johannesburg, we are closely monitoring the situation ... Should [it] deteriorate further – if higher than normal temperatures persist and there is still no rainfall – we will, in consultation with both the Department of Water and Sanitation and Rand Water, announce austerity measures,” says Dlamini.
In the event of a strong El Nino worsening the drought, Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane might issue a directive by decree to impose water restrictions.
Since April 2015, sea surface temperatures (SST) have been increasing in the Pacific Region, which might affect normal rainfall patterns globally, with flooding in some parts.
Water levels in the Vaal Dam, which was 67% full in August, have been dropping at an average of 1% a week, going down to 59% at the end of October.
Dlamini says the current situation is being mitigated, to a certain extent, by the release of water from the Sterkfontein Dam, which is used as a “bank”.
“[Also], looking at the City’s reservoir storage supply vis-à-vis the daily demand, we were able to meet the daily demand during August to September. As a matter of fact, our demand for water was lower relative to the same months in the year prior,” says Dlamini.
The City is in the process of tabling a revised by-law to restrict the watering of gardens to conserve water and manage demand in an already water-scarce city.
He says Johannesburg Water has, in partnership with the Borehole Water Association of Southern Africa, produced hydro-geological maps to promote responsible or registered borehole drilling. A public announcement on this will be made soon
In addition, the entity will embark on a drive to attend to plumbing leaks at more than 500 schools in the city under the Jozi@Work Programme.
This initiative will be underpinned by an educational and awareness campaign.
“It must, however, be noted that these programmes are not necessarily reactive but proactive. They have been in the pipeline for a while,” says Dlamini.
Johannesburg Water supplies its 4.4 million customers with a total of 1 574 mega-litres of potable drinking a day, using a network of 11 896km of water pipes, 122 reservoirs and water towers and 35 water pump stations placed in strategic positions throughout the city. On average, it supplies 1 880 litres of water per property per day.