Water reaches West Coast

MUCH-NEEDED water from the Misverstand Dam near Piketberg has reached 22 West Coast towns which also face huge drought.

This comes after water from Misverstand Dam was stolen. Sandbags and pipes used to divert the water to private dams have been confiscated.

Anton Bredell, MEC for Environmental Afairs, said people found guilty of water theft could be fined up to R10 million.

Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the national Department of Water and Sanitation, said the farms to which the water was diverted had been identified.

“The water was diverted into the private dams of farmers. We cannot say if a lot of water was taken. But these people knew the water was coming and that is why it was taken.

“Any amount of water taken is an abuse of water resources.”

Bredell’s spokesperson, JamesBrent Styan, confirmed that water had now reached the West Coast.

Recent rains had made a slight difference to the dams. “The latest dam levels show a slight increase from 15.8% last week to 16.6% on Monday.”

Bredell said his department “will investigate claims that some people are stealing water that was released”.

The Department of Water and Sanitation recently released five million cubic litres of water from the Berg River Dam to Misverstand.

Ratau said water from the Berg River was released via a pipe leading to the Wemmershoek Dam.

“A total of 5.066 million cubic metres of water was released. The dam supplies municipalities on the West Coast with water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use,” he said.

Meanwhile the City of Cape Town says the water consumption of residents has dropped to 505 million litres a day.

A City spokesperson said: “This will go a long way in ensuring that the City will make it safely through the winter. Although recent consumption data reflects great commitment from residents, we are still to reach our target of 450 million litres per day.”

PEOPLE FOUND GUILTY OF WATER THEFT COULD BE FINED UP TO R10 MILLION