Water ‘load shedding’ begins in SA as dams dry up

·13 Oct 2016

The Department of Water and Sanitation says that South Africa will undergo water rationing if consumers do not cut consumption as dam levels reach critically low levels.

The City of Tshwane has already implemented “water shedding” – restricting water flow to areas across the municipality as residents have ignored the call to cut water use.

City mayor Solly Msimanga this week announced a number of water-saving measures being implemented, including the throttling of the city’s water supply to keep reservoirs at good levels.

Johannesburg Water meanwhile said on its Twitter page on Thursday it was “moving closer to water shedding and residents will suffer if they continue ignoring water restrictions.”

Reuters reported that the City of Johannesburg has already implemented ‘water throttling’, which is the reduction of water inflow into an area and different from ‘shedding’, which is when the supply is completely cut off for certain periods.

“Most areas will notice a drop in pressure. We already have a number of complaints from consumers about that, but we want to use that to get people to comply,” Johannesburg councillor Anthony Still told Talk Radio 702.

Reuters reported that the department of water in August asked municipalities to cut water supply by 15% to preserve dam levels, but said the response had been poor.

Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said that failure to cut water use would “trigger the next level of interventions”.

The minister’s spokesman Mlimandlela Ndamase elaborated by saying: “The next level will be rationing, which in turn has consequence referred to as shedding…The urgency of saving 15% cannot be over emphasized. It is critical.”