Provinces set to apply to be declared drought zones

HALF of the country’s nine provinces could be named official drought zones.

Officials in Western Cape, Free State, Limpopo and Northern Cape are currently considering applying to be declared drought areas.

KwaZulu-Natal was officially given drought status late last year.

The Department of Water and Sanitation and the various KZN water boards said the country was staring water restrictions in the face unless something was done.

Already, municipalities across KZN have applied strict water restrictions, including not allowing residents to wash their cars or water their gardens. Other provinces could follow suit as the typically dry winter season approaches.

Provincial water and sanitation department director Ashley Starkey said water shortages were a countrywide problem.

“The recent fires in Western Cape are an indication of below average rainfall and severe dryness,” said Starkey.

“Western Cape, Free State, Northern Cape and Limpopo are considering going the KZN route in terms of drought declaration. The reasons [for this] are the anticipated below-average rainfall … and that the majority of individual dams have very low [water] levels, ” he said.

Sibusiso Makhanya, CEO of Mhlanthuze Water, said: “Come winter, if it is still like this, we’re going to have a problem.

“The situation is not dire yet, but it’s heading there if we don’t get rain before winter.”

According to research by the Institute of Security Studies released last year, South Africa was already the 30th driest country in the world.

“South Africa is facing a potential water crisis … average annual rainfall in South Africa is only 495mm, whereas the world average is 1 033mm,” said the report, titled

On top of this, South Africans used more water than many other countries – 235 litres per person per day, compared to the average of 173 litres. According to departmental figures, not a single dam in KwaZulu-Natal currently has as much – let alone more – water than a year ago.

To deal with the problems, officials have already started pumping from fuller rivers into some of these dams, spending R19-million to move upwards of 14 million litres of water a day. A further R40million will be spent to pump water into the Hazelmere Dam where water levels have dropped to 46% to ensure it does not run dry.

–