MOSSEL BAY NEWS - At its September meeting on Thursday, 26 September, the Mossel Bay Municipal council approved the implementation of water restrictions with effect from 1 November within the municipal area of jurisdiction.
The town's main source of water supply, the Wolwedans Dam is currently 55.62% full and the level of the dam is dropping at approximately 1% per week.
The Wolwedans Dam also supplies PetroSA with about 15.43 Ml per day. The average municipal consumption is 23.0 Ml per day.
At the current consumption it is envisaged the Wolwedans Dam level will reach 50% by mid-October if the rainfall pattern does not improve.
Despite repeated calls for the community to save water and the voluntary 10% restriction asked of all users of potable water since 1 September 2017, the water consumption in the municipal area has increased marginally by 0.687% over the past 12 months. Residents in Herbertsdale and Buisplaas reliant on groundwater resources have been subjected to a 45% restriction for some time. The metered consumption over the past two financial years is: 2017/2018 – 6,724,099.0kl; 2018/2019 – 6,770,343.1kl.
A notice to curtail water consumption from the Wolwedans Dam has been received from the Breede Gouritz Catchment Management Agency.
Should the dam level drop to below 30%, the desalination and reclamation plants will be operated at full capacity as per the Department of Water and Sanitation operating rules.
The water restrictions will be imposed according to the relevant by-laws and policies and all consumers of water will be charged an increased tariff as per the approved tariff list.
List of restrictions
The following water restrictions will apply as of 1 November.
- Watering of gardens will be limited to one hour per day between 18:00 and 19:00 and limited to two days per week. No irrigation systems may be used.
- Even-numbered households are restricted to Mondays and Thursdays only. Uneven numbered households are restricted to Tuesdays and Fridays only. Watering with a garden hose may only be done if the hose is hand held.
- At sports fields, only the watering of cricket pitches, golf course greens and bowling greens are permitted for two hours per day, restricted to Tuesday and Friday mornings before 09:00.
- No hosing of roofs, driveways and any other surface and no washing of vehicles with garden hoses will be permitted.
- The filling of swimming pools at households is prohibited.
- Accommodation establishments and hotels must lodge an application with the municipal manager for relief in this regard to fill up their swimming pools.
- Identification of areas with high water pressure and/or high water consumption for the installation of pressure reduction and/or flow lowering devices.
- Effective awareness processes must be followed.
It is important to note that if the total available water supply drops in volume to between 50% and 40%, even stricter restrictions will apply.
A Water Resilience Task Team consisting of the executive management and members of the mayoral committee will assist the municipal manager and executive mayor in taking decisions about water conservation and demand management during the drought period.
The municipal manager will, in terms of the Water Demand Management Policy and in consultation with the executive mayor, be authorised to implement or waive restrictions and any additional control measures as may be required depending on the circumstances prevailing at the time.
Indigent relief
Only indigent households will receive six kilolitres of free water per month when the dam level drops below 30%.
The director: infrastructure services, Dick Naidoo, will prioritise interventions to reduce water leakages and non-revenue water and will implement measures to effectively manage groundwater resources in the rural areas.
Any contravention of these restrictions is deemed an offence in terms of Section 102 of the Mossel Bay Municipality Water Services By-Law and will be acted upon accordingly.
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