JOHANNESBURG – Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu announced on Monday that he has established a ‘water war room’ to mitigate Gauteng’s dwindling supply issues.
The worsening water cuts in the province have prompted an emergency meeting” between the minister, Rand Water and affected metro’s and local municipalities.
Rand Water’s system crashed over the weekend and this led to the water supply dropping to critical levels.
Parts of Gauteng are now experiencing level 2 water restrictions.
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The utility has urged consumers to continue playing their part by conserving water but it’s still unclear what’s causing the taps to run dry or when relief can be expected.
The deteriorating water situation in Gauteng has forced the government and municipalities to establish a water war room as levels shift from critically low to empty.
Director-general at the Water and Sanitation Department’s Dr Sean Phillips said this was one of the measures to tackle the supply gap caused by the increased water consumption.
“The water room is being coordinated by Rand Water, including the Department of Water and Sanitation, Joburg Water and other municipalities. It is going to particularly going to concentrate on improving efforts to ensure that the problems at reservoirs are addressed as soon as possible, so that people in high-lying areas can get water.”
Phillips said because of the dire situation, the department will also draw more water from the Vaal Dam to meet the high demand.
“On an emergency basis, we are going to increase the abstraction limit from the Vaal. As you know, Gauteng doesn’t have its own water, most of the water comes from the Lesotho Highlands scheme.”
Meanwhile, some residents say Rand Water, city authorities and the national government should have been better prepared.
Auther : EWN | Veronica Mokhoali | 17 October 2022 16:22