Restrictions still stand despite heavy rains

Water restrictions is set to continue despite more rain and improvement of dam levels in Gauteng.. Picture: Karen Sandison

Water restrictions is set to continue despite more rain and improvement of dam levels in Gauteng.. Picture: Karen Sandison

Published Feb 20, 2017

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Pretoria – South Africans need to come to terms with the reality that more rain did not mean the end of the water shortage in the country.

Department of Water and Sanitation spokesperson Mlimandlela Ndamase said water restrictions would continue despite records showing the improvement of the Integrated Vaal River System this past week.

The system, made up of 14 dams, is the main source of water for Gauteng, including Sasol and Eskom. The department said it had continued to record a rise despite the drought and erratic rainfall patterns.

Ndamase said assumptions that rain automatically equated to a rise in dam levels were not true as it often depended on where rain fell.

“If it rains in Pretoria and Joburg that water does not flow to the Vaal Dam. Rain in the south of Joburg flow to the Jukskei River and in the far north, water will flow into the Hartbeespoort area,” he said.

“For water to get into the system it would have to rain in the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho.” As Gauteng did not have its own water sources, it relied on water from KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Lesotho.

On the Vaal Dam, Ndamase said there had only been a marginal increase last week to 67.4 from 63.1% the previous week.

“This is an improvement from the same period last year when it was at 51%. We are appealing to the public to turn the tide against the increase in water consumption.

“The curtailment of water by 15% by municipalities still remains in force. The public is encouraged to adhere to these restrictions to avoid water levels falling to dangerously low levels,” he said.

The Bloemhof Dam has improved from 36.7% to 42.8% last week, while the Grootdraai Dam recorded a slight movement downwards from 104.8% to 99.9%, he said.

Katse Dam, which previously stood at 45.8%, showed an improvement to 49.5%, but recorded a drop as compared to the same period last year which stood at 59.7%.

Sterkfontein Dam, which serves as a reservoir, was stable at 87.9%.

Pretoria News

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