Living in South Africa has become a nightmare as residents do not only have to worry about rolling power cuts but also water interruptions by Rand Water.
For the past three weeks, the residents of Johannesburg have had to deal with water supply challenges, after the water entity announced stages two and three of water supply interruptions.
In a media briefing on Friday, the Rand Water leadership consisting of board chairperson Ramateu Monyokolo, chief executive Sipho Mosai and chief operating officer Mahlomola Mehlo discussed the state of the water utility in Gauteng metros, saying day zero is off the cards.
Mosai insisted that the water utility still has water, and that it is able to meet the high demand, but warned that water has to be used sparingly.
He said a Rand Water reservoir is sitting above 30% but hinted that rolling blackouts by Eskom pose a huge challenge.
“Rand Water is spared from the power cuts, but the quality of the electricity is poor during loadshedding. This has a negative impact on the water utility,” said Mosai.
“The municipalities need to impose bylaws on how to use water. The solution is to get water consumption lower, so that it can get to everyone. The residents in areas that are supplied by Rand Water will not see day zero, which does not exist in Rand Water’s vocabulary.”
Mosai added that the utility supplies an average of 4 642 mega litres per day while demand on peak days rises to 5 036 mega litres per day. “We have to use this water in a way that it will last us should we have draught in the next seasons, that is why dams are built.
“We have water in the dams, but that water must be used over a period of time. We request that you use the water we have now until the next season, because climate change is unpredictable. We do not have a water issue here, we have a high water consumption issue.”
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