Pretoria - Residents in the capital city who fail to use water sparingly will not be penalised at this stage, despite restrictions that have been implemented by the city.
The city on Tuesday put a moratorium on watering or irrigating gardens with hose pipes or sprinkles from 6am to 6pm. Residents have also been restricted from washing vehicles with hose pipes or filling up their swimming pools.
MMC for water and sanitation, Darryl Moss, and the department’s head Stephen Notoane said despite there being no penalties, residents were urged to use water wisely and sparingly amid the dire drought gripping the country.
The city had convened a media briefing to inform the public and other stakeholders of measures to conserve water and manage increased demand through restrictions.
This metro’s restrictions follow those of the City of Joburg and the Ekurhuleni metro, heeding a call by the national Department of Water and Rand Water to restrict water provision by 15% as dam levels were low.
Declaring a crisis, the department and Rand Water said drawing water from the integrated Vaal River system should be limited. In terms of the directive, municipalities were expected to cut water usage and ensure a 20% curtailment on irrigation.
Moss described the water situation as a crisis and said there had been a decline in water levels in several catchments in the city. An example was the Bronkhorstspruit Dam, which dropped from 81% to 66% since September last year, the MMC said. But despite the water restrictions, no penalties would at this stage be imposed on residents who failed to abide by the water-saving measures in the capital.
Moss said the absence of punitive measures was because the city trusted residents to do the right thing and contribute to saving water. Fines would be a last resort to dealing with water problems in the capital, he said.
Leaks were singled out as the biggest contributor to water losses each day. At least 90 megalitres of water were lost each day due to leakages resulting in a financial loss of between R400 million and R450m.
Moss said the city intended to manage the water shortages caused by the drought, heatwaves and other seasonal changes. Last year, the city implemented water restrictions at the height of the heatwaves.
Moss urged consumers to make efforts to reduce water consumption.
“Should consumers not adhere to restrictions as imposed by the national department and Rand Water, the situation will worsen and there will be no water for longer periods,” Moss said.
If the situation did not improve, the city would introduce stringent measures such as increased tariffs, intensified policing and water shedding, Moss said.
Consumers were also urged to use water-saving tips distributed via flyers and through the city’s communication platforms. These included covering swimming pools to reduce water evaporation.
Notoane said the city received 72% of bulk water from Rand Water and at least 28% from its water treatment plants and boreholes.
He was optimistic that the city had the capacity to handle the situation.
“It is unlikely that we will resort to water shedding because we are managing our system,” he said.
As part of the water restrictions, the city would roll out education and awareness campaigns to teach residents about the importance of preserving water.
Moss said implementing scheduled water shedding was the last resort. Where necessary the city would dispatch water tankers as a back-up to areas without water, he said.
The city would work with the metro police to clamp down on illegal water connections.
Did you know?
*Washing dishes in a dishwasher uses 40l of water.
*A sprinkler uses 540l of water an hour.
*Cleaning your teeth with tap running uses 6l of water.
*Washing the car with a bucket requires 10l of water.
*Flushing a toilet uses 9l of water.
*Using a hosepipe without a trigger nozzle uses 500l of water an hour.
Pretoria News