Residents need to be more water-wise
Water restrictions implemented two years ago were not lifted.
I am concerned by the lack of policing by the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) regarding the implementation of water restrictions.
Residents continue to waste water, despite water restrictions being put in place by the city.
Many residents are unaware that water restrictions are in place, highlighting that the message to conserve water has not reached a large population of residents.
Although CoE has not yet implemented fines, the water restrictions implemented two years ago were not lifted, meaning that the watering of gardens between 8am and 6pm is still illegal.
Wasting water on washing cars and driveways during the day is also illegal, but many residents are ignoring this.
Many dams have dropped to critical levels and the Lesotho Highland Development Authority has shut down the Lesotho Highland Water transfer and delivery tunnel for two months from October 1 to November 30 to perform mandatory inspection and maintenance work. There will be no transfer of water to the integrated Vaal system for this period.
Rand Water has an agreement with CoE to supply a certain amount of water and if the amount is exceeded, there are penalties that will be implemented and there will be a reduction in water pressure.
Rand Water has allegedly proposed steep tariff fine hikes that could see a minimum increase of 20 per cent increase on normal tariffs with heavy water users experiencing a 60 to 100 per cent increase.
We are therefore calling on residents to actively minimise their water usage and conserve every drop. All residents need to be vigilant, proactive and diligent in their water usage.
Alderman Bruna Haipel
