Johannesburg intends to place stringent restrictions on gardening enthusiasts to help stave off the rationing of water to the city's 4.8 million residents. Johannesburg Water is preparing to publish for public comment a by-law that would prohibit watering of gardens between 9am and 5pm in summer and 10am and 6pm in winter.Johannesburg Water managing director Lungile Dhlamini said the objective was to ensure that, when gardens were watered the ground remained moist for longer.Chief operations officer Ntshavheni Mukwevho said residents would be left to police themselves."You need to make sure that everyone understands so that if I'm your neighbour and I see that you're acting irresponsibly, I should be able to take it upon myself and call the authorities to say: 'My neighbour is wasting water.' It's not about deploying police."Stage-four water restrictions - including shutting off the supply from 8pm to 6am in areas that have not reduced consumption - is still in effect on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.The restrictions were implemented in December when the level of the Hazelmere Dam - which supplies water to Ballito, Verulam, La Mercy, Westbrook, Tongaat, Seatides, Groutville, Ndwedwe and Umhlali - was as low as 37%.Since February, Sembcorp Siza Water, which supplies the Dolphin Coast region, has been issuing fines of R3000 or more to residents and businesses that have not reduced consumption by 30%.The restrictions include a total ban on hosepipes and Jacuzzis. No new pools may be constructed and only recycled water may be used in existing pools.In Western Cape, record-low rainfalls has farmers in a sweat as crop forecasts wither and expenses mount.Not a single drop fell in Worcester in April, and precious little in most Western Cape towns, according to SA Weather Service figures. Cape Town airport recorded only 4mm, the lowest since 1953.The dry conditions are a major concern for particularly wheat and wine farmers, who rely on winter rainfall for their planting season. Several farmers told The Times they were increasingly anxious about the state of their soil."These are the worst conditions that I've experienced in the 30 years that I've been farming," said the vice-chairperson of Grain SA, Andries Theron...