The Department of Water and Sanitation said on Wednesday that it has deployed water tankers to provide water to areas that had been hardest hit by the drought.
These include rural areas in the KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo province, which have been declared disaster areas.
Other provinces affected by drought include, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.
In Gauteng the municipalities are experiencing strain on the supply systems due to high demand and current high temperatures.
Deputy Director General for Planning and Transformation, Deborah Mochotlhi said there were short, medium to long-term measures in place to deal with drought.
They include tankering solutions, re-use and desalination, eradication of illegal water use, drilling of boreholes in suitable areas and rainwater harvesting as short-term interventions.
On the medium and long-term intervention there are transfers of schemes of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2 – emergency transfer Tugela to Goedetrouw, Othangathi River transfer to Hazelmere and infrastructure developments in Hazelmere, Clanwilliam and Tzaneen.
Most importantly the department “is appealing to every individual to use water sparingly and adhere to water restrictions as well as efficient water use practices including not filling swimming pools, or watering their gardens”.