EKURHULENI residents are still not saving enough water, with the 15% savings target reached in only two weeks since November.
However, the City of Ekurhuleni wishes to thank residents and businesses for making an effort to meet water savings targets, Themba Gadebe, metro spokesman, said.
The city made a call to residents and businesses on August 12 last year to reduce water consumption by 15% to ensure that the abstraction from the Vaal River system is reduced as per the call from the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
“However, over the past three months the 15 per cent weekly target was achieved in only two weeks,” Gadebe said.
To reach the target, Ekurhuleni implemented water restrictions and started rationing water to reduce consumption levels.
The city needs to consume only 842kl every month to achieve a 15% savings rate.
Any consumption below 842kl means residents have used less water and therefore exceeded the 15% target. Any consumption above 842kl means the city is using more water than the target and the percentage would dip below 15%.
On January 31, the Vaal Dam was at 63.5%. With winter
approaching, the dam needs to be at 80% to enable the city to
have sufficient water before summer rains begin later in the year.
The national department will review water restrictions in May.
The table below shows the percentage saving the city has achieved.
Required usage: 842 618 (15%)
Actual Savings
14 November: 878 175kl -11,4%
21 November: 885 635kl -10.7%
28 November: 846 172kl -14,6%
6 December: 911 650kl – 8%
12 December: 903 034kl – 8,9%
19 December: 884 445kl -10,8%
26 December 825 129kl -16,8%
2 January: 829 548kl -16,3%
9 January: 855 526kl -13,7%
17 January: 889 462kl -10.3%
25 January: 907 413 – 8.5%
Water restrictions are still in place and include:
• No watering of gardens from 6am and 6pm
• No use of hosepipes
• Repair water leaks
• Report burst pipes or water leaks in the streets on 086-054-3000
• The city is also continuing with the water rationing schedule. Kempton Park has no water between 9pm and 5am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
