The Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) intends to establish a joint operational centre to deal with the water crisis in the province.
With water levels in the Vaal River system standing at an alarmingly low 27% as of Monday night‚ Cogta said the aim of the centre is to plan around and improve the state of readiness for any form of contingency to deal with the steady decline of water levels.
Currently there is in place a provincial technical team which meets every week to monitor and plan for the water crisis in the province. This team is made up of Cogta‚ Rand Water‚ municipalities and the Department of Water and Sanitation.
However‚ due to the urgency of the situation‚ Cogta wants to establish a joint operations centre‚ likely to be housed at the Disaster Management Centre in Midrand‚ to provide more comprehensive response and planning to the water crisis.
The joint operations centre will be responsible for issues such as the monitoring of water levels‚ monitoring of water restrictions and any form of disaster management associated with the water crisis currently being experienced in the province.
The department said the sweltering heat and the lack of sufficient rainfall across the province pose an imminent danger of more severe water scarcity‚ and called for drastic saving measures by each and every water user.
“If we are to secure enough water for each citizen amidst this very real water crisis‚ we need to pull together and do every bit we can to save and preserve our water resources in our province”‚ said Cogta MEC Paul Mashatile.
Municipalities in Gauteng have been facing serious water shortages after the Department of Water and Sanitation introduced restrictions due to the drought. Over the past three days‚ Gauteng has experienced a heatwave which increased water demand and dropped levels at some of the reservoirs in its cities.
According to Cogta‚ the Vaal River System is currently at an average level of 27% capacity. This is the total average for the 14 dams that supply the system. The level of Vaal Dam in particular is decreasing at a rate of 1% every week.
The department warned that a combination of weather patterns‚ insufficient rainfall and not nearly enough responsible water usage by users across the province are all indications that the province may reach a level of 25% in the next two weeks. – TMG Digital
Gauteng establishes joint operations centre to deal with for water crisis
The Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) intends to establish a joint operational centre to deal with the water crisis in the province.
With water levels in the Vaal River system standing at an alarmingly low 27% as of Monday night‚ Cogta said the aim of the centre is to plan around and improve the state of readiness for any form of contingency to deal with the steady decline of water levels.
Currently there is in place a provincial technical team which meets every week to monitor and plan for the water crisis in the province. This team is made up of Cogta‚ Rand Water‚ municipalities and the Department of Water and Sanitation.
However‚ due to the urgency of the situation‚ Cogta wants to establish a joint operations centre‚ likely to be housed at the Disaster Management Centre in Midrand‚ to provide more comprehensive response and planning to the water crisis.
The joint operations centre will be responsible for issues such as the monitoring of water levels‚ monitoring of water restrictions and any form of disaster management associated with the water crisis currently being experienced in the province.
The department said the sweltering heat and the lack of sufficient rainfall across the province pose an imminent danger of more severe water scarcity‚ and called for drastic saving measures by each and every water user.
“If we are to secure enough water for each citizen amidst this very real water crisis‚ we need to pull together and do every bit we can to save and preserve our water resources in our province”‚ said Cogta MEC Paul Mashatile.
Municipalities in Gauteng have been facing serious water shortages after the Department of Water and Sanitation introduced restrictions due to the drought. Over the past three days‚ Gauteng has experienced a heatwave which increased water demand and dropped levels at some of the reservoirs in its cities.
According to Cogta‚ the Vaal River System is currently at an average level of 27% capacity. This is the total average for the 14 dams that supply the system. The level of Vaal Dam in particular is decreasing at a rate of 1% every week.
The department warned that a combination of weather patterns‚ insufficient rainfall and not nearly enough responsible water usage by users across the province are all indications that the province may reach a level of 25% in the next two weeks. – TMG Digital
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