Lomati Dam Level and introduction of Water restrictions
Due to very hot and humid conditions, the consumption of water increased to such an extent that pressure in the Town’s water pipes dropped as the Municipality were not able to purify enough water to maintain the pressure.
Andy Nuns, Chairman of the Barberton / Umjindi Ratepayers Association writes:
A. Background
We first raised this issue on the Barberton Times website in November 2014.
In the Barberton Times article of 29 January 2015, we requested that the Municipality inform all water users regularly about the level of water in the dam and the usable percentage of that level, and thereby remind them to try and reduce their water consumption substantially to prevent water shortages.
The Municipality responded that the Municipality were monitoring the dams water level closely and should the situation persist closer to winter months, the community would be informed of further steps.
B. Introduction of Water Loss prevention programme
The Municipality must be congratulated in that subsequent to the above, they employed a professional firm to check and help to improve the amount of Water Losses. We understand that as part of the programme introduced, the firm check for leaks, faulty meters and replace stolen water meters with plastic ones. This programme is taking place from March to end of June 2015.
C. Worsening of drought conditions
Subsequent to the Barberton Times’ January article, the drought conditions worsened. Consequently, we started receiving
comment from concerned Motor bikers and others that the level of the dam was dropping fast.
In addition, due to very hot and humid conditions, the consumption of water increased to such an extent that pressure in the Town’s water pipes dropped as the Municipality were not able to purify enough water to maintain the pressure. This lead to the Municipality , publishing an article in the Barberton Times in March basically appealing to residents to reduce water consumption and only water gardens with hoses until the heatwave had passed.
Towards the end of March, we received a photo of the dam which appeared to indicate the water level was starting to recede more rapidly. On the 7 April we received an e-mail message informing us that the dam level was approximately 3 meters below the dam wall. On both occasions we phoned the Water department to obtain clarity and left urgent messages for a response but did not receive one.
Consequently, we phoned Johan Badenhorst on the 8th April. He assured us the Municipality were monitoring the situation, were aware of the problem and were busy preparing documentation on the subject for approval by Council.
To substantiate the information provided in the e-mail of 7 April, we visited the dam and after inspection concluded that the position was verging on serious and if nothing was done about it soon, a strong possibility existed, that the Town could, in the short term, run out of usable water in the dam. This conclusion was based on the photos taken by us and the fact that:
1. In our considered opinion, the water level in the dam is presently between 50% to 55% and the usable percentage is 35% to 45% – see 2. below
2. About 10% to 15% of the full capacity of the dam is not usable, due to mud, silt and debris which has built up in the dam over the years. -The Engineer who sent divers down to inspect the dam a few years ago told us that in his opinion about 18% of capacity was unusable. However ,we understand this may have been partially improved when repairs were recently done, hence our figure of 10% to 15%.
3. The inflow has reduced considerably in the past month
4. Consequently the level is starting to drop far more quickly than previously
5. All predictions are that we have entered a drought cycle which usually lasts a few years.
6.Although the Suid Kaap Purification plant is planned to come on line in winter, this is not guaranteed , it has not been tested and this river is polluted in summer months and highly polluted in winter. This means(assuming the system comes into operation on time and the system works effectively) the Municipality will have to spend considerably more on chemicals for purifying the water and a lot more on electricity for pumping the water to the users.
7. Although the Municipality have an allocation percentage of the water they can pump from the De Kaap River, the percentage does not increase if the volume of water in the river decreases due to the drought. For example, if the full water volume in the river is a factor of 1million and their allocation is 20%, they can pump 200 000. If the volume in the river drops to 200 000, they can only pump 40 000 – not 200 000.
D. Recommendation
Under the circumstances and anticipating an adoption by the Municipal Council of a resolution to introduce water restrictions , we request all residents to keep their water consumption to a minimum and to not use hoses or sprinklers to water their gardens or hoses to wash their cars. This request is in line with what happened in the past when water restrictions were necessary.
