“Instead of a decrease in water use‚ there has been a sharp increase in water consumption”‚ even thought the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) gazetted water restrictions in August.
That’s according to Hosia Sithole‚ the assistant director at DWS for Gauteng‚ who said the restrictions were intended “to curtail water supply by 15%”.
“Despite this‚ it is disappointing to note that these restrictions have not yielded positive results‚” he said.
“The chances of rainfalls that were forecast by the SA Weather Services proved to be a drop in the ocean. The erratic manner in which they fall is not enough to extricate us from the distressing situation in which we find ourselves.”
Sithole added that the “anticipation for continued rainfalls is thwarted by the fact that when the rain does eventually come‚ it is in the form of flesh floods‚ which leave a trail of destruction and less rain in our catchment areas”.
He said actions to restore the levels of the Vaal Dam‚ including releasing water from the Sterkfontein Dam‚ “has led some to continue the reckless use of water”.
Sithole said: “There is no way in which Gauteng is going to thrive under the spell of the calamitous drought we are in if we do not resolutely and consciously commit to conservation every drop of water. “Until we implant the culture of saving water in our daily activities‚ we run the risk of losing whatever little water we have. There is no amount of awareness campaigns that is enough to get the public to do the right thing.
“The government employs whatever resources it has on its disposal to conscientise the public about the dangers of using water recklessly‚ but the truth is that the buck stops with the public.”
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