Rand Water enforces level 1 restrictions in Gauteng due to rising demand

To avoid water shortages, bulk potable supplier Rand Water is implementing level 1 restrictions in Gauteng due to heightened demand.

Rand Water group chief executive (GCEO) Sipho Mosai revealed this during a water imbizo that was held on Friday, 13 September, in collaboration with the Gauteng provincial government and the Department of Water and Sanitation.

RAND WATER TO IMPLEMENT RESTRICTIONS IN GAUTENG

South Africa is a water scarce country and Gauteng has had its fair share of water woes as the population continues to grow while water sources are unable to keep up with the demand. There are over 15 million people in Gauteng.

During the imbizo, Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai revealed some of the challenges the entity is facing including high water consumption and illegal mining and connections. He called for the imposition of level 1 restrictions and a moratorium on irrigating public facilities in the province until March 2025.

Under level 1 water restrictions, the watering of gardens is prohibited between 6:00 and 18:00. This has been the case for most residents especially in Johannesburg for quite some time. Residents are no longer permitted to wash paved areas and driveways using hosepipe.

SANDTON METER S SHUTDOWN FOR RIGHT HOURS WEEKLY

Meanwhile, Johannesburg Water recently announced the Sandton meters will be closed from 20:00 – 4:00 the next day due to increased water demand.

Johannesburg Water said the shutdown is to ensure that supply distribution to struggling systems and areas within its network.

Earlier this year, experts warned that the water system in Johannesburg is on the verge of collapse as taps were dry in most parts of the metro.

Former Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda told the Daily Maverick that several areas in the metro have experienced water outages at some point. These have been isolated or linked to several factors, such as power outages, vandalism, infrastructure theft, etc.

Gwamanda said the municipality’s current water and sanitation infrastructure backlog is estimated to be R27 billion, and the City is spending only R1 billion annually on infrastructure. Ideally, this should be R3 billion to attend to the backlogs decisively.

WATER SAVING HABITS TO IMPLEMENT IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE

Rand Water has advised that resident should implement the following measures:

• Do not leave taps dripping
• Wash your car on the grass with grey water as this will water your lawn at the same time
• Shorten your showering time
• Use a glass of water to rinse when brushing your teeth
• Take shallow baths and avoid filling your bath to a depth greater than 100mm
• Reuse grey water to wash your garden or pot plants
• Fix all leaking plumbing features in your house