It could take as long as five years for South Africa’s dams to recover from the current drought, according to a water engineer.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a seasonal forecast update briefing convened by the South African Weather Service in Pretoria, Department of Water and Sanitation deputy director general Trevor Balzer said that in good rainfall it would take dams up to two years to recover fully.<\/p>\n
“We predict that it will take anything from two to three years and even up to five years to recover from the drought we have just come through,” Balzer said, as reported by Reuters.<\/p>\n
Authorities have said that national dam levels are at 49%, with at least 6-8 weeks of consistent rainfall needed. The Department of Water and Sanitation said that the Vaal Dam is currently at 27% – and if it drops below 25%, reserve storage will have to be dipped into.<\/p>\n
As of Monday night, water levels in the Vaal River system were standing at 27%.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce dam levels dip to below 20%, we pull in strategic users like Eskom and others in a bid to save water,\u201d Balzer said.<\/p>\n
The City of Johannesburg is currently implementing Level 2 water restrictions. but has warned that it may be forced to implement Level 3 restrictions as is already the case in the Western Cape as of 1 November.<\/p>\n
A Joint Operational Centre (JOC) is being established in Gauteng to plan around and improve the state of readiness in the wake of the steady decrease of water levels in the province.<\/p>\n
The Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, together with the Department of Water and Sanitation and Rand Water is establishing a JOC, which will also be responsible for, among others, monitoring water levels, monitoring of water restrictions and any form of disaster management associated with the water shortage in the province.<\/p>\n
MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Paul Mashatile said the sweltering heat and the lack of sufficient rainfall across the province pose an imminent danger of even worse water scarcity. He called for drastic saving measures by every water user.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are to secure enough water for each citizen amidst this very real water crisis, we need to pull together and do every bit we can to save and preserve our water resources in our province,\u201d said MEC Mashatile.<\/p>\n
Two months ago, the Department of Water and Sanitation gazetted the implementation of water restrictions for the Integrated Vaal River System, which largely affects water users in Gauteng.<\/p>\n
The restrictions included the 15% reduction of consumption by domestic users and 20% reduction for irrigation users. The restrictions were intended to reduce water use and manage demand across the Rand Water supply area.<\/p>\n
The Vaal River System is currently at an average dam level of 27% capacity, which is the total average for the 14 dams that supply the system. The Vaal Dam in particular is losing water levels at an increasing rate of 1% every week.<\/p>\n
MEC Mashatile said a combination of weather patterns, insufficient rainfall and not nearly enough responsible water usage by water users across the province are all indications that\u00a0the system may reach a level of 25% in the next two weeks, should water consumption not be reduced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will trigger the next level of interventions, which may mean that we will have to increase the percentage of water restrictions across the board,\u201d said MEC Mashatile.<\/p>\n
He warned that Gauteng may very well be declared a water disaster area if no drastic measures are put into effect as a matter of urgency.<\/p>\n
Tshwane enforces water \u2018load shedding\u2019 as residents ignore call to cut use<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Shocking pictures show just how empty the Vaal is<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n