By Alicia Mmashakana
THE Department of Water and Sanitation is urging the public to use less water during spring as temperatures increase, causing high evaporation rates and increased water resource losses.
Water levels in the Mpumalanga dams and water management areas are already dropping and are lower than last year, despite the relatively stable water levels in the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS).
The IVRS is currently at 78.2%, down from 79.1% last week. However, this time last year, the IVRS was at a more comfortable 93.5%. The Vaal Dam, which is a critical component of the IVRS, is currently at 45.2%. Last week it was sitting at 46.3%.
On Tuesday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi warned that water was a scarce resource.
“In this particular province (Gauteng), we had almost two months where people were without water. The main reason is not that we don’t have water but that almost 37% of water is lost through illegal connections, and the number of water that the Rand Water
can get from the department of water and sanitation, we have reached that sealing,” he said in reply to question from the Democratic Alliance.
Almost 40% of the water of the total municipal water supplied in South Africa is lost before it reaches municipal customers.
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