Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DWS), expressed her concern after the rain stayed away and dam levels dropped dangerously fast. She made a plight that people must immediately start saving water to avert a possible Day Zero in Gauteng. She announced in Johannesburg on Monday that Gautengers use an average of 320 liters of water per person per day, while the acceptable world standard is 170 liters per person per day.
In recent weeks, the Transvaal and Free State experienced a prolonged heat wave, which caused water consumption to rise sharply and evaporation in the large storage dams was much faster than predicted.
With the Vaal Dam already under 50% of its capacity, and other dams having as little as 20% in content, there is reason to worry.
The inflow of water from the Lesotho Highlands has been temporarily halted to provide essential maintenance to the tunnels. The maintenance is expected to be completed by the end of Nove
Continue reading…