Our new favourite motto when dealing with water is this “if in drought, go without” and it is working pretty well at helping us save water.
Gauteng, South Africa (26 October 2020) – If you are in the Gauteng, you will know that the weather has been threatening a good rain for over a week now but we have been very underwhelmed with the amount of rain.
It is officially the rainy season but most days, a few drops fall or none at all. It is very worrying and even more important than ever for people to save water.
ReenvalSA on Twitter shared images of the dock at Dennysville that is standing atop a barren space where it should be surrounded by water.
The dock at Denysville, #Vaaldam. No, it is not a dry dock. Water level of the dam fast approaching critical level again. #Save_Water pic.twitter.com/8BCThskuV0
— ReenvalSA (@ReenvalSA) October 26, 2020
You can see the current level of water below as per Rand Water.
Vaal Dam
Percentage: 29.6%
Level: 14.41
Volume: 769.6
Flow: 17
Rainfall: 0
Last update: 23 October 2020
The images above are sobering and serve as a reminder to save as much water as possible. We have a new motto in the office “if in drought, go without!”. And by that we mean, go without filling your pool up for summer, go without getting your car washed on the regular and go without a bath (shower instead). Don’t forget to save your greywater for the garden and don’t forget to tell your friends and family to do the same.
A few other things to go without; flushing the loo when it is yellow, just let it mellow! Go without watering the garden with a hosepipe, rather use a watering can!
We have reached out to Johannesburg Water for feedback about which level of restrictions the city is currently facing but are struggling to get an answer. So in place of that, we have information about levels 1 and 2 below. As soon as we have received an answer, we will update the article. But let’s stick with the level 2 rules until we know for sure.
The level 1 restriction means the following needs to be adhered to daily:
- Watering of gardens is only allowed between 18:00-06:00 (1 September and 31 March); and between 16:00-08:00 (1 April and 31 August).
- All consumers are prohibited from using a hose-pipe to clean paved areas, roofs and driveways with municipal water.
- Sports fields are only allowed to be watered for two hours per day, twice per week. This includes the watering of cricket pitches, golf course greens and bowling greens.
The level 2 restriction means the following needs to be adhered to daily:
Level-2 water use restrictions according to section 44 (3) of the Water Services By-law states that consumers are compelled:
- Not to water their garden between 06:00 and 18:00;
- Not to use irrigation systems, only a handheld hosepipe or bucket is permitted during watering times
- Not to fill swimming pools with municipal water;
- Not to use hosepipes to wash their cars
City of Johannesburg residents are reminded that water restrictions are enforceable by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and consumers are urged to report non-compliance using the 24/7 hotline on 011 758 9650.
All residents are encouraged to report water and sanitation problems on the Call Centre 011 375 5555 and social media pages: Twitter- @Jhbwater and Facebook – Johannesburg Water. They also post helpful tips for saving water across their social media platforms.
Sources: Johannesburg Water / Twitter
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