Rustenburg -The Rustenburg local municipality has issued water restrictions due to the heat wave, the municipality said on Thursday.
“The municipality has issued water restrictions for consumers and it is important that consumers do understand the seriousness of this. We also hereby request each and every one to keep by the restrictions and conserve our water as it is precious and can’t be replaced,” said municipal spokesman Thapelo Matebesi.
He said the main contributors of water in the municipality were Magalies Water and Rand Water.
“The systems are currently under tremendous strain due to the heat wave combined with the extremely dry season. The level of Rand Water’s Barnardsvlei dropped during the last month from a steady 80 percent to a critical 14 percent. The Bospoort reservoir feeding the Boitekong areas is merely six percent currently,” explained Matebesi
The municipality said the most serious impact, other than dwindling water supplies, was the effect on staple crops and, ultimately, commercial crops.
“The knock-on effect of crop failure could be seen in the population drift from rural areas into the cities, farm labour lay-offs and farm closures as well as an increasing indebtedness in the agricultural sector.
“We therefore urge all our residents to be prepared and heed the call of the seriousness of our water situation,” Matebesi said.
The Moses Kotane local municipality said it has not implemented any water restrictions.
“There are no restriction implemented at the moment. However, the municipality experienced shortage of water due to power supply cuts at Vaalkop Dam as part of infrastructure project upgrades,” said spokesperson Beauty Makganye.
ANA