Residents in the western parts of the City of Tshwane should brace themselves for increased water restrictions.
Member of the mayoral committee for utility services Darryl Moss told News24 that issues at one of Rand Water's pump stations had led to reduced water supply on the western side of the city and several reservoirs, including the Brakfontein Reservoir, were dangerously close to running dry.
"Rand Water has, as of last week, experienced greater supply challenges due to pump challenges at their Palmiet pump station and the concurrent electricity challenges. Rand Water has to pump water up to Gauteng due to elevation changes," Moss said.
"This has led to the water levels at Rand Water's Brakfontein Reservoir that supplies the western side of Tshwane dropping from 18% on Monday morning to 12% on Tuesday morning. I anticipate that the level will have dropped further this morning."
As a result, Rand Water has increased its water restrictions from 20% to 30% and also included more areas in the restriction over the weekend to prevent reservoirs from running dry.
"As such, the City of Tshwane is working tirelessly to mitigate Rand Water's restrictions in the interim by way of water tankers to ensure that our residents get the necessary water supply. To this end water tankers have been dispatched to deliver water to the affected areas," Moss said.
Rand Water says repairs at the Palmiet Pumping Station are expected to be concluded by Wednesday and the pump station should be able to supply more water.
"The impact of their repair will take a couple of days to be fully felt, probably by the weekend. The repairs to the pipeline from the Roodeplaat Treatment Works are progressing well. We expect to have water supply from Roodeplaat on Friday.
"We will continue monitoring the situation from Rand Water and making whatever adjustments that we can make under the current situation and the City will continue to communicate on developments in this regard until the issue is resolved," Moss added.
Residents warned of more restrictions
Residents and businesses are not allowed to water their gardens between 06:00 and 18:00, use hosepipes to clean driveways and patios or to wash their vehicles with hosepipes.
They are also advised to use grey water for watering gardens and flushing toilets, report water leaks and pipe bursts and install water-saving devices and consider drilling a borehole for irrigation.
Where possible residents must install a low-flow showerhead and tap aerators and use a dual-flush toilet cistern, collect rainwater for reuse in the garden or for washing their cars, cover swimming pools to reduce evaporation, take a shower instead of a bath and inspect leakages.
The municipality has warned that where the bulk water demand is not sufficiently reduced, it may implement level 2 or 3 restrictions in terms of the water supply tariffs.
"Drilling of boreholes in suburbs underlain by dolomite bedrock is prohibited due to the risk of dolomite instability, except if certified as safe by an appropriate professionally registered person. An appropriate sign must be visible if a borehole exists on a property.
"The City appeals to residents to please remain vigilant to wastage of water, and make saving water part of their lifestyle," said Moss.