Preparing for the worst

The Dolphin Coast is preparing for the worst water shortage on record, as drought continues to shrink the embattled Hazelmere Dam.

The dam has dropped to 30 percent on Monday this week and if there is no rain, Ballito’s taps will run dry in August.

The dam level is dropping at about 1 percent every four days, creeping ever closer to the 15 percent level which is basically just mud and can not be purified. The dam is effectively left with 15 percent usable water before it fails and Sembcorp Siza Water (SSW) expects that to happen within the next 60 days or so.

This is in contrast to Umgeni Water, which according to its Facebook page still believes water will last more than 100 days (three and a half months) until it rains again in spring.

On Monday SSW announced that all service providers, including themselves, Ilembe district municipaity and Ethekwini Water Services, were now carrying out water restrictions of 50 percent that applied to domestic and commercial consumers. Areas that have to tighten their water belts include Ballito and Dolphin Coast, Westbrook, Seatides, La Mercy, Umdloti, Tongaat, Groutville, Shakaskraal, Ndwedwe, Etete, Waterloo and Verulam.

While Umgeni Water remains confident that it will rain in September, the South African Weather Service forecasts that the drought may last until January 2016.

SSW said this week that to prolong water supply from Hazelmere Dam, Umgeni Water will now allocate limited daily quotas of drinking water to service providers and once that was finished, no more water will be released.

If taps run dry, consumers will have to collect their own water, using their own containers from water tanks placed at strategic points.

Full details of the new water restrictions and SSW’s contingency plan, including restrictor washers, supply cuts and fines, appear on in the newspaper on page 16.