Not enough water for daily demand
BARBERTON - The City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, responded to Lowvelder’s enquiries about the dire water situation in the town.
The extreme heat, low dam levels, prevailing drought conditions, coupled with a number of other factors, has necessitated the implementation of water rationing over the past few weeks.
According to Ngala, by last Thursday, the Lomati Dam that provides most of the water for the town, was at only 15,4 per cent capacity.
“We are restricted at 40 per cent, which means that we can only draw 60 per cent of the demand from the dam. For example, the CBD needs 12 million litres per day, but we can only draw 7,2 million litres. This means that we are already on a back foot in terms of the daily demand.
“The rationing schedule that has been communicated is the one that manages the CBD and town residential areas,” he said.
This demand, Ngala said, can be managed, but the same is not true for locations and industrial areas that have a different source and a higher demand for water.
It is this demand, he indicated, that has resulted in reservoir levels not increasing. Lowvelder previously reported that there were issues regarding the number of boreholes that are functional, but do not provide sufficient water for residents.
“There is a borehole project that has since been completed in extensions 7, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, Longhomes and Mkhize Park to help alleviate the water shortages.
“These boreholes are open to the public in addition to the existing boreholes that have been previously constructed within the CBD and town residential areas,” said Ngala.
With regards to the JoJo tanks that were installed in partnership with Barberton Mines and other stakeholders last year, he explained that most were destroyed during the almost five-week long “Buya Mjindi” protests that rocked the area earlier this year.
Ngala did not comment on whether there were any plans underway to construct a second dam in Barberton to alleviate the water crisis or whether any fines will be implemented for residents found to be wasting water.
He advised that water tankers will be dispatched “as and when the situation worsens”.
“With the dam level this low and the heat wave still upon us, we still appeal to communities to use water sparingly and refrain from irrigating lawns and putting more strain on the almost depleted supply,” he concluded.