The City of Tshwane has urged consumers to conserve water so as to avoid higher restriction levels.

The municipality said despite numerous requests to customers to use water sparingly, the city continues to experience week-on-week high water consumption by residents and businesses.

The city warned that this behaviour is putting the city’s bulk water system under severe strain and may lead to the municipality’s system running dry and eventually collapsing.

‘The Rand Water system, which accounts for 79% of Tshwane’s water provision, is currently under severe pressure due to the city’s excessive demand. The water utility pumps about 800 million litres per day to Tshwane, which is 18% more than the city’s licence agreement with the entity.

‘It is against this background that customers are cautioned that if the current consumption practice does not change, the city will imminently adjust the water restrictions to Level 2 or even higher, which will have financial implications to consumers due to associated chan
ges in water tariffs,’ the municipality said in a statement.

The city has reminded residents to adhere to the following Level 1 water restrictions:

– Do not water or irrigate gardens with a hosepipe or sprinkler system between 6am and 6pm.

– Do not use a hosepipe to clean driveways or patios.

– Do not wash vehicles with a hosepipe.

– Do not fill or top up swimming pools or water features.

‘The city is once more urging all residents to make a concerted effort to reduce water consumption by adhering to the Level 1 water restrictions. Punitive measures will be imposed against transgressors,’ the city said.

Water storage could soon depleted

Meanwhile, Rand Water has warned communities, particularly in Gauteng, that water storage could soon be depleted if municipalities do not implement the entity’s recommendations.

Rand Water spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo, said water storage levels throughout the Gauteng province have significantly declined due to excessive water withdrawals by municipalities, raising ser
ious concerns.

According to the entity, municipalities in Gauteng have been repeatedly warned by Rand Water about the potential crisis.

Maroo said the entity has communicated through letters, held meetings with many municipalities, and engaged in discussions at Gauteng’s Intergovernmental Governance Forum and the Gauteng Water Imbizo. However, the crisis it sought to prevent has now materialised.

‘The water supply systems in Gauteng, including Rand Water reservoirs, are critically low, and the situation is anticipated to worsen… It is essential to act now to prevent the impending disaster. Rand Water emphasises that it is operating at full capacity and cannot pump additional water into the system.

‘Due to the limitations imposed by the organisation’s extraction license from the Department of Water and Sanitation, Rand Water cannot extract more water from existing sources. The only viable solution to address this issue is through Water Conservation and Demand Management,’ Maroo said.

In light of this, Ran
d Water has advised municipalities to reduce the physical losses of 33% identified in the No Drop Report, repair leaks, enforce by-laws, and address illegal connections.

Rand Water has also reminded consumers that the organisation is a bulk water supplier; therefore, ‘any water shortages should be reported to the respective municipalities, as the organisation (Rand Water) is not responsible for water distribution within municipalities.’

‘Consequently, inquiries regarding water interruptions should not be directed to Rand Water. Rand Water is left with no option but take steps to protect its system from total collapse,’ Maroo said.

Source: South African Government News Agency