Johannesburg - Weeks of sweltering heat waves and no rainfall have worsened Gauteng’s water woes with the Vaal Dam dipping to just about 30% capacity.
The Vaal Dam, a source of water for most of Gauteng, has been declining week-on-week and currently sits at 30.2%.
Despite the dam being at such alarmingly low levels, the Department of Water and Sanitation has said residents should not panic about day zero or the implementation of water usage restrictions.
Spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said: “The Department of Water and Sanitation wishes to assure water users in Gauteng and the surrounding areas that the province is not facing an imminent crisis of day zero.
“As the department tasked with ensuring water security we do not have such a concept as ‘day zero’, but rather are keen to ensure that the system does not fail.
“This is despite the levels of the critically important Vaal Dam hovering under 40%.
“The fact that the Vaal Dam is presently hovering at 30.2% does not mean the province is facing impending severe-water shortages that could cause alarm.
“Accordingly, consumers have no reason to panic as the department is monitoring the state of the dams, including that of the Vaal Dam, on a continuous basis.”
Ratau added that the 14 dams that form part of the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) had a better water supply.
“The Vaal Dam should not be seen in isolation but within the context of the system which is in a relatively stable state, floating above the neutral 50% mark at 55.4%.
“It’s important to note that some of the dams within the IVRS, the biggest system in the country, supporting the crucial heartbeat of South Africa’s economy, Gauteng, are at comfortable levels.
“The department has not had to even tap into the IVRS’s reserve dam, the Sterkfontein Dam, which is at 94.3%. Another, the Grootdraai Dam, is at 75.9%. Bloemhof Dam is 86.2%.”
He said that the department was hoping that the much-anticipated summer rains would help replenish the Vaal Dam but consumers still needed to remember that the country was water scarce.
“The department urges consumers to use water responsibly, conscious of the fact that South African is a waterscarce country,” Ratau said.
While people in Gauteng are still lucky enough not to have water restrictions, those in other provinces like Limpopo and the Eastern Cape have not been so fortunate.
Residents in the drought-stricken Butterworth, Eastern Cape, have had to rely on water tankers for supply as dams they relied on have run dry.
The department has supplied the area with over 10 water tankers that will ferry water from the four boreholes that were drilled for the community.
In Limpopo, residents in Polokwane have had to deal with water restrictions because of the low levels in the Ebenezer Dam.
The Star