The City of Tshwane has implemented “water shedding” – restricting water flow to areas across the municipality as residents have ignored the call to cut water use.<\/p>\n
City mayor Solly Msimanga has announced a number of water-saving measures being implemented, including the throttling of the city’s water supply to keep reservoirs at good levels.<\/p>\n
There will also be a scheduled “load-shedding” plan, while flow restrictors will be installed at high water consumption users.<\/p>\n
Among the types of areas that will face these restrictions are retirement villages, complexes and businesses.<\/p>\n
The city said it will also set up a customer care centre and SMS line so that residents and citizens can quickly report water leaks and burst pipes.<\/p>\n
The city issued a call for all citizens to reduce their water usage by 15% in August – but residents failed to heed the directive, managing only to reduce usage by a paltry 2.7%.<\/p>\n
This left the city with no other option but to restrict water themselves, Msimanga said.<\/p>\n
South Africa\u00a0is facing an extremely hot and dry summer, with the Weather Service expecting extreme drought conditions – which have knocked the country for much of the year – to persist at above-normal rates over the next few months through to December.<\/p>\n
Certain areas in the country – such as KwaZulu Natal, and regions in the Free State, Mpumalanga and the North-West – will not be affected as badly, as some rainfall is expected to drop.<\/p>\n
City of Joburg dishes out fines to water wasters<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n