Will residents be penalized for water usage soon?

Chairman of the Barberton / Umjindi Ratepayers Association, Andy Nuns, writes:

Municipal dam water level and consequent penalty charges for exceeding specified monthly water consumption once the level of the dam reaches 85% or less.

We established on Wednesday 19th November that the level of the dam on that date was 69%.
To discourage excessive water consumption in the time of a drought penal charges are normally applied to your monthly water consumption when the level of our dam drops to 85% and lower In addition certain restrictions are applied to your water usage.
We understand from past experience that these penalty charges and restrictions are normally as follows:

1. Once the dam level drops to 85%, the following rounded off penalties apply to your consumption of water:

Consumption 7 to 25Kl – no penalty
Consumption 26 to 35Kl . Approx 7% penalty applies
Consumption over 36KL -Approx 27% penalty applies

2. Once the dam level drops to 70%, the following rounded off penalties apply. In addition you may not water your garden or wash your car with a garden hose:

Consumption 7 to 25Kl – no penalty
Consumption 26 to 35Kl – penalty approx 36%
Consumption 36Kl and more – penalty approx 269%

We had a very dry October and November although a few days have seen reasonable amounts of rain with about 40mm to 50mm.

If the dam level is still 69% after the recent rains, it appears that penal charges and water restrictions will be those shown in 2 above. When the dam water level was between 85% and 70% the penal charges applicable would have been that shown in 1 above.

Responsibility of Municipality:

It is our opinion that in order to get residents to use water sparingly and to ensure residents do not incur penal charges unnecessarily; the Municipality should have advised residents of the position when the dam water level reached 85% but for whatever reason they did not do so.
However, we understand the Municipality will be notifying residents of the position shortly and hopefully they will do their share by ensuring that funds are made available so that long outstanding water leaks and problems previously reported by the community are attended to more promptly than in the past.

If the current drought conditions persist, the Town could run out water. As such, it is obviously necessary for everyone including the Municipality to conserve water.

Director Electrical Services & Acting Director Civil Services, Jaco Landsberg, answers on behalf of the Umjindi Municipality:

Mr Nuns,

We thank you for your concern, however, we seriously doubt your sources and the information given by the Rate Payers Association.

As far as using water sparingly, that is something that should be ongoing, even during the wettest of seasons. Waste not, want not.

Currently, we are in the process of upgrading a Suid-Kaap water purification plant to be in operation before the next dry season (winter).

Furthermore, you need not remind us of our duty as far as fixing water leaks are concerned, neither about our duty towards the residents of Umjindi.
Water leaks should be reported on the following number: 013-712-2222.

Your comment about the Umjindi Municipality notifying residents is correct.
We assure the Ratepayers Association that we will do so in advance.