Close the taps in Tshwane or 'water supply system could collapse'
Rand Water's overall reservoir storage capacity has dropped from 60% to 30% and the supply system could collapse if the water levels do not recover.
This is according to the Tshwane MMC for Utility Services Daryl Johnston, who described the situation as "very serious and, in fact, critical".
According to a statement on Monday, the MMC said a recent increase in water usage in the city prompted Rand Water to control water flow to the city.
He urged residents to reduce their water consumption urgently.
"If the situation does not change, the bulk water supply system of Rand Water will continue to drop and eventually collapse," Johnston warned.
According to the statement, this increased usage in Tshwane and other municipalities was linked to the recent heatwave, a lack of rainfall, and load shedding.
Johnston explained that load shedding affected the supply to water treatment plants by reducing pumping hours while the power was off.
He pleaded with residents to use water sparingly so that the impact of the current water challenges could be minimised.
The bulk water supplier notified Tshwane of its intention to "control the flow of water to Tshwane in order to reduce water consumption".
According to the MMC, Rand Water implemented restrictions to restore its overall reservoir storage capacity to normal operating levels.
Johnston further warned that unless water usage in the city was reduced and the capacity was restored, "more areas will soon start to experience water shortages".
Gauteng has faced water restrictions due to high consumption before.
In October, Rand Water tightened the taps due to high water consumption – often up to 5 000 megalitres of water a day – placing a constraint on the water supply to the province.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation