With Day Zero predicted for the middle of April this year, Kouga Municipality is set to install water-flow restrictors in homes of high-water users across the region from Tuesday, March 1.
This comes as the combined levels of the dams that supply water to the region totalled just above 16% earlier this week, according to information from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
The two biggest dams, Kouga and Impofu, stood at 15.82% and 14.12% respectively. The Churchill Dam was at 23.14%, and the small Loerie Dam balancing at 60.91%.
“The water-flow restrictors will restrict the flow of water to households,” said Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks.
He said that should the pilot project prove successful, a total of 3 000 water-flow restrictors would be rolled out across the region. Meanwhile, the municipality has been working around the clock to implement measures to circumvent the prospect that the Kouga region runs out of water.
“This includes the reduction of water pressure to all households – aimed at reducing residential water consumption,” said Hendricks. “Additional boreholes will, furthermore, be connected to the various water treatment works, while the drilling of exploratory boreholes is also being investigated. A comprehensive leak detection programme will commence once the smart leak detection vehicle from Germany arrives in Kouga in the next month.”
As part of the municipality’s efforts to manage water usage, municipal taps are turned off at public open spaces, all municipal buildings will be equipped with rainwater harvesting tanks, and stringent measures have been put in place to ensure that the restricted allocation of water – 50l per person per day – is adhered to.
“The municipality is also working with law enforcement to enforce compliance,” he said.
Residents are reminded that the current water restrictions prohibit the connection of a hose pipe or an irrigation system to taps supplying water from the municipal system. Pools may not be filled or topped up, and the washing of paved areas, rooves and walls with municipal water is not allowed.
“Every one of us has a role to play in preventing Kouga’s taps from running dry – we must do all we can to save water,” said Hendricks.
