Gauteng's water situation dire
Water and Sanitation minister Nomvula Mokonyane has urged the province's citizens to change their water usage patterns before starring water shedding in the face.
"The Vaal River System is currently at an average dam level of 51.8%. This is the total average for the 14 dams that supply the system. The Vaal Dam in particular, is currently at a 30.1% capacity and has been losing water at a rate of 0.8%, week on week.
"As a department we are monitoring the system and the monitoring indicates we may reach a level of 25% by 14 November 2016, should we fail to see a reduction in water use and consumption. This will trigger the next level of interventions to be implemented," said Minister Mokonyane.
Drought conditions have necessitated water restrictions.
But not much has changed in terms of usage.
Residents have been given two weeks to change their ways, before stricter measures come into place.
Cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Paul Mashatile....
Minister Mokonyane decried the fact that instead of water usage decreasing - the opposite is happening, with water not being consumed but used for other purposes.
"Looking at water use nationally, 62% of our national water resources are utilized by agriculture, 23% by urban domestic water users, 4% by rural consumers and 2% by power generation. In Gauteng this pattern however is different. 79% of the water is utilized for domestic urban use, 6% for agriculture, 5% for power generation and 9% for mining and other industrial activity," she said.
Mokonyane added that to succeed in saving water in Gauteng, households, as major water users, must start complying.