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No taps will be drying up, yet

5 Nov 2015

Johannesburg residents need not panic. Taps will not be drying up any time soon.

Unlike some areas around South Africa - such as KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West, which are being devastated by drought - Johannesburg can at least rely on some water from the Sterkfontein Dam, outside Harrismith in the Free State, "to alleviate the situation", Johannesburg Water MD Lungile Dhlamini said on Wednesday, 4 November.

The City of Johannesburg is preparing to table a revised by-law "to restrict water gardening as a water conservation and demand management practice".

To further shore up its water supply, the city will allow the "responsible drilling of boreholes" across various suburbs. But these will have to be registered.

It remains to be seen how long Johannesburg's water security remains intact before dam levels plunge to dangerously low levels.

If current weather patterns persist, Dhlamini says dam levels may plunge to about 30% by January.

"Should the situation deteriorate further - that is if higher than normal temperatures persist [as well as a] lack of rainfall - in consultation with both the Department of Water and Sanitation and Rand Water, [we] will further announce on austerity measures should they be warranted.

"Rand Water's projection is that dam levels could drop to as low as 29.7% by January 2016."

About 630-billion litres of water are transferred from KwaZulu-Natal, via the Tugela-Vaal Water Transfer Scheme. It is stored in the Sterkfontein Dam and then released into the Vaal Dam via the Wilge River when needed.

About 577.3-billion litres of water are available annually for use by Johannesburg and its 4.4-million residents.

Almost 127-billion litres of water were lost between August last year and July this year, but in contrast to that, the city managed to save two billion litres last year.

KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State have already been declared disaster areas.

Maize producers have called on the government to provide guarantees for new bank loans ahead of the new planting season.

They also plan to reduce 2016 season planting of the grain to the lowest level since 2011 in response to the effects of the lack of rain.

The government, meanwhile, has made available R500m to assist drought-relief efforts.

Source: The Times

Source: I-Net Bridge

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