Rand Water concerned over high consumption in Gauteng metros

Rand Water concerned over high consumption in Gauteng metros

JOHANNESBURG – Rand Water has raised concern over high consumption of water in Gauteng metros which has forced the bulk supplier to increase its supply to the municipalities.

The water utility says 80% of its supply is now going to Gauteng metros, which has breached the licence agreement between Rand Water and the different municipalities.

This as some parts of Gauteng continue to grapple with water outages as a result of high demand brought on by a heatwave.

As Joburg Water urges residents to reduce consumption, Rand Water said that if the warning was not heeded, its entire system will collapse.

The bulk water supplier said that in the last week of November and the first week of December, the combined water supply to the cities of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg was 11% higher than the target.

Both entities cited the two heatwaves that hit parts of the province over the last two weeks as the reason for the high demand.

In the last week, Johannesburg’s water systems have been under severe strain, with some reservoirs reaching critically low levels.

This left areas including Sandton, Midrand and Alexandra without water for at least four days.

Currently, the South Hills tower is using a bypass system to supply water to the area as the reservoir is empty.

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