With Rand water forced to impose restrictions across the province amid the sweltering heat, the effect is felt far and wide by individuals, communities and institutions who are forced to cope with what few drops they can collect.
This as the province’s reservoirs run dry due to intense heat, and contend with extraction restrictions imposed by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
“Over the past few weeks the province has experienced scorching heat, at the same time water has become scarce and metros have had to pull out all the stops to provide water where they can,” a City of Tshwane official said last week.
This was as residents and facilities, among them hospitals, schools and homes, have been forced to rely on water tankers for daily water use.
Said one resident in Pretoria north: “The cost of that is immense. The contractors who provide the vehicles make a killing as they must not only have staff to do this, but they must fetch water, transport it across the length and breadth of the city, and then stay put because some people are there to collect it during the day, others in the evening when they come back from work.”
Saying he worked for a public health facility in Soshanguve, the community member said it was almost impossible to ensure everyone everyone had their fill. “We ration patients and ourselves in the hospital. From how much water our sick can drink, use for bathing, and even that which must be available for the kitchen and cleaning staff....it is a disaster waiting to happen,” the worker, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said.
It gave rise not only to dehydration as the heat in that part of the city rose into and beyond the mid 30s on hot days, but disease. “The importance of water goes beyond the mundane. A hospital needs a lot of water to stick to the prescripts for which it exists, that being health and hygiene, but when water is rationed staff is forced to watch each and every drop being used, and this includes that used for hand washing, for flushing, bathing...”
This, he said, made worse what the public health sector was infamous for, which included a lack of cleanliness.
He spoke as the city - and province, were being warned to anticipate day zero due to the low water supply. “Some areas always have low water reservoirs, and Soshanguve is among them."
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment added their voice of concern as they asked for urgent action by the government, telling parliament: “South Africa continues to rank among countries that are vulnerable to hazardous weather events including, among others, droughts, tropical cyclones, storms, and heat waves.”
They spoke about the problems faced by Rand Water in supplying water to the 12 million residents of Gauteng, among them licensing but more recently, the heat and diseased water bodies as cholera was found along the Vaal and Harts rivers.
The Department of Water reported cholera bacteria being detected in the raw water extracted during routine sampling at five sites last week.
“Communities are advised not to drink or come into contact with the raw water from the rivers. Follow up sampling on the river is in process and will indicate extend and area of caution,” the department said last week.
They added that: “The Vaal River is a "workhorse river" serving the Gauteng, Free State, Northwest and Northern Cape provinces, supplying water to various users for domestic, industrial, mine and agricultural use that contribute to nutrients in the river.”
And this could not have all come together at a more difficult time, water engineer Seth Nyamane said. Raw water was what was most easily accessible to many communities along river and dam lines. “That does not even touch on the issue faced by municipalities, of leaks all over the place,” he added.
And, said Rand water towards the end of the week: “Water storage facilities could be depleted if municipalities do not act on recommendations to fix leaks and conserve water.”
This situation would become worse as temperatures are predicted to soar, even in summer, the South African Weather Services said.
Sunday Independent