Gauteng to lift water curbs as Western Cape is still under drought lash

26 February 2017 - 22:00 By Katharine Child
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Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

While the Western Cape has about 124 days of water left‚ Gauteng will lift its water restrictions on Monday.

Johannesburg's restrictions prohibited people from watering gardens during the day or washing vehicles using a hosepipe.

The lifting of restrictions will be gazetted on Monday‚ with immediate effect. Sluice gates at the Vaal Dam were opened on Sunday after its level reached 97%. The Department of Water Affairs will monitor water levels to decide how long the the sluice gates remain open‚ said spokesman Sputnik Ratau.

Sluice gates at Bloemhof Dam were opened on Friday.

Residents near the Vaal Dam and the Orange River have been warned to avoid low-lying areas.

Minister of Water Affairs Nomvula Mokonyane said there was a possibility of flooding in the Northern Cape town of Douglas‚ near Kimberley‚ which is close to both the Vaal and Orange rivers.

Mokonyane said the country was in an unusual situation with the drought "juxtaposed" against the recent rains.

"The last two to three years have been difficult‚" she said. The drought had devastated large areas in the Southern African Development Community. The drought was not yet over as many areas had not benefited from recent rains and it would take groundwater levels a "good few years to recover"‚ Mokonyane said. Dam levels were up year on year in the Free State‚ Gauteng Limpopo‚ Mpumalanga‚ Northern Cape and North West.

But Western Cape dam levels were only at 32.8%‚ down from 49.15% this time last year. Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal dams were lower than this time last year. Mokonyane remained concerned about the drought in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

She said about 386 million cubic meters of water had flowed into the river systems from this week's rain.

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