The problem:

Bloemfontein:Water problems in high-lying areas

Bloemfontein and the greater Mangaung area are struggling since September with water supply and delivery problems. First, water restrictions were introduced and lately residents are experiencing irregular supply and low pressure.  This is due to the fact that two reservoirs of the city nearly ran dry and left most of the traditional Mangaung suburbs without water for five days.

The current problem is that water is drawn out of the reservoirs as fast as it is pumped in. This effectively means that no reserves can be built up.

In a statement by the Mangaung Metro the levels of the reservoirs are indicated to be at 48%. This is only sufficient for the water network and not enough for the delivery of water to high-lying areas in Bloemfontein.

Residents in high-lying areas will have some water during the morning but as the day progress, the pressure and supply desiccate.

With summer just underway, what will happen during the season as the demand for water increases?

The solution:

Take control of your own water supply rather to be dependant on the municipality.  Water Rhapsody can help you by harvesting rainwater and recycling of your grey water.

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Last year this time the combined capacity was 33.7%

This could mean that the water restrictions be totally lifted. The Department of Water Affairs said it would lift the restrictions when the combined capacity of the Impofu and Churchill dams reach a combined capacity of 85%.

Does this means that the scarcity of water in the metropole is something of the past?  No!, warns Mr Dewalt Coetzee, director: southern operations from the department of water affairs.  Full dams are not an indication of plenty of water.  South Africa is a water scares country and if we waste the water now and the rains stays away again, we might be back to water restrictions within a year’s time.

The long term weather forecast predicts another dry season.

Lets all work together to keep on saving water.

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The water tariffs will be lifted with effect from 1 August 2011 and the decreased water usage restrictions will take effect from 25 July 2011.

The tariffs under the restrictions were:

Kouga River

The water tariffs from August 2011 will be:

R6.60 for the first 800l/day
R8.27 for the next 800l/day
R9.82 for the next 1000l/day
R16.73 per kl thereafter.

There are a few reasons why the water restrictions are not totally lifted.

Within the last two months the average volume of the water in the dams making up the Algoa Water Supply System has increased by 100%. What has however been of concern is the fact that the dams dedicated to the NMBM water use has not had the amount of run off as seen in the Kouga River. The Churchill Dam located on the Kromme River only started overflowing on Friday evening 15 July 2011. This is a month after the Kouga Dams was full. Also to note is the fact that the overflow of the Churchill Dam flows into the Impofu Dam, which means that the runoff in the Kromme River was actually low, meaning that the majority of the inflow came from the tributaries and not the main river.

The latter is therefore the main reason that the restriction on the NMBM has not been entirely lifted and therefore the statement that the status of the water availability to the NMBM will be judged on the availability of water in the Kromme River. The storage of these two dams needs to be at least at 85% for all the restrictions to be entirely lifted.

At the current water consumption levels the NMBM has sufficient water for approximately two years.

The Department of Water Affairs placed a 10% restriction on the water usage of the Metro. This is due to the fact that the metro is in a drought prone area and the future weather outlook shows that we are going to have a dry season and our water supply may decrease considerably.

The department is in the process of lifting restrictions on the city’s water usage from the two major dams which are wholly dedicated to it, the Churchill and the Impofu on the Kromme River, from 15% in the 2010/11 water year, to 10%. It will drop the 10% restriction entirely once both the Churchill and three-times-larger Impofu reach a combined capacity of 85%. Yesterday they stood at 76%.

Both the Loerie and Kouga dams have been overflowing for weeks now. For the last water year, which ended on June 30, the Bay could only use 60% of its allocation from the Kouga Dam, or about 14000 megalitres a year. The city’s water consumption from that dam is monitored carefully, as it is pumped from the Kouga Dam to the Loerie Dam, and then to the city.

Gamtoos Valley farmers were told earlier this month they could use their full quota (60000Ml a year) of the Kouga Dam’s water again, after being forced to use just 40% (24000Ml) during the last water year, crippling many citrus farmers. Gamtoos Irrigation Board chairperson Pierre Joubert, who also sits on the Algoa Water Study Group, said it was essential that the department seriously considered raising the Kouga Dam wall to add to the region’s water security. Raising the 82m-high wall by an additional 15m has been under discussion for more than 10 years, and is part of the Algoa Water Study Group’s long- term recommendations to the department.

- Brian Hayward  The Herald 14 Jul’11