Tshwane warns of severe water shortages amid excessive consumption
Mapaballo Borotho
- Tshwane has warned that excessive water use could result in the city running dry before summer.
- The metro is already exceeding its permitted water allocation from Rand Water by 22%.
- If consumption does not decrease, residents may face extended water cuts.
The City of Tshwane has cautioned residents that persistently high water consumption could leave the metro without water even before the hot summer season begins.
This comes after the city announced that it has been experiencing an excessively high water consumption over the past few weeks.
“The levels of the city’s reservoirs and towers have been dropping extraordinarily in the last two weeks. The city has so far identified 16 of the highest consuming reservoirs. It has come to our attention that consumers who are supplied by these reservoirs are the main contributors to the overall high volume of consumption within the city,” said Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba.
Bokaba says the demand is exceeding what the city can provide, compelling the city to surpass its licensed figure of the amount of water it should source from Rand Water.
“The water utility is currently pumping about 926 million litres per day to Tshwane, when it is supposed to be pumping 662 million litres per day. This is 22% more than the city’s permitted limit. This high volume of consumption is continuously putting the city’s distribution network and Rand Water systems under severe pressure,” Bokaba added.
The City warned that if the current consumption practice does not change, it will experience prolonged water supply interruptions
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