Adhere to municipality instructions, as dam levels drop

Please adhere to local municipalities’ instructions on how to save water, the Department of Water and Sanitation has urged Gauteng residents.

This comes as parts of South Africa were struck by a heatwave.

“As the country is moving into the summer season, which offers hope for much-needed downpours, we call on water users to remain vigilant when using water and to properly close taps to avoid losses,” said Department of Water and Sanitation spokesperson Sputnik Ratau.

The department also said it had noted a drop in levels of critical dams in the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) which has put further strain on the system.

“This drop in some of the major dams, including the critically important Vaal Dam, has put a strain on the IVRS as it continues to fall week-on-week.”

Ratau said according to the department’s weekly reservoir status report, the IVRS had again dropped this week.

“Last week, the levels of the system stood at 56%, but have this week declined to 55%.

“The Vaal Dam has again recorded a decline as it dropped from 31% last week to just 30%, this week.

He said the Gootdraai Dam, which had stayed the same over the past two consecutive weeks, had seen a drop this week.

He said the levels dropped from 76% last week to 75%.

“Contrary to other dams in the system, Sterkfontein Dam increased slightly this week,” said Ratau.

He said in Lesotho, the situation with both the Mohale and Katse dams was getting desperate as the dams continued to worsen with each passing week.

He said during the heat spells, water in the dams also evaporated quickly and this could mean that a significant amount of water was lost.

“Thus preserving every drop when consumers use the limited resource is vitally important,” Ratau said.

The Tshwane metro have advised the following to restrict water usage:

– No watering/irrigation of gardens with hosepipes or sprinkler systems between 06:00 and 18:00

– No washing of vehicles with hosepipes

– No filling of swimming pools.

Take shorter showers instead of bathing. #SaveWater pic.twitter.com/fJ3Clj1hfq

— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) October 20, 2020

Use grey water to water the garden. #SaveWater pic.twitter.com/zM6rh2Zuwl

— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) October 20, 2020

Harvest rainwater in a water tank. #SaveWater pic.twitter.com/igpnMLfOFB

— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) October 20, 2020

Please reduce your #water usage. Due to high temperatures Tshwane is using more water than normally. #SaveWater pic.twitter.com/NSHYV5U1ny

— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) October 20, 2020