South Africa's water crisis spreads

Dams giving water to Johannesburg at 'very low' levels as Cape Town limits usage

SPH Brightcove Video
As Cape Town's residents are forced into stricter measures to preserve water, there are fears that the flow of tourists, a vital part of the city's economy, could also dry up.
Drinking water being collected from a communal tap in Masiphumelele township, Cape Town, on Tuesday.
Drinking water being collected from a communal tap in Masiphumelele township, Cape Town, on Tuesday. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

KATSE DAM (Lesotho) • Cape Town is running out of water and low dam levels in the emerald-green highlands of Lesotho are causing alarm in South Africa's industrial heartland around Johannesburg.

The tourist hub of Cape Town may run dry in April and, across South Africa, water supplies have yet to recover from an El Nino-triggered drought two years ago, heralding potential water shortages that could hit industrial and agricultural output.

Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape province has imposed water restrictions, dam levels are at worrying levels in the sugar-cane producing province of KwaZulu-Natal and a swathe of South Africa's maize belt has been hit by drought.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the unfolding situation in Cape Town is a priority and officials are expected to announce contingency plans this week. The next crisis may lurk in the mountains of Lesotho, a landlocked mountain kingdom encircled by South Africa.

Much of the water that supplies Gauteng, the province that includes Johannesburg, Pretoria and much of South Africa's industry, flows from the Katse and Mohale dams in Lesotho. According to South Africa's Department of Water Affairs, dam levels in Lesotho are "very low" - the worst ranking - and are in their 10th percentile, meaning levels have been higher more than 90 per cent of the time at this point in the year.

Its levels are lower than at the height of the drought two years ago, when the combined level of the dams was at almost 50 per cent capacity compared with 32 per cent now.

Data compiled by the United States government's Africa Standardised Precipitation Index shows rainfall in Lesotho has been below normal for the past few months, exacerbating the after-effects of the 2015 to 2016 drought.

  • 50% Dam levels in Lesotho at the height of the drought two years ago.

    32% Dam levels now.

Experts say water in the dams should ideally be used for storage, but Pretoria is now drawing from Lesotho as it continues topping up Guateng's Vaal supply system.

"At the moment, we are using the whole system and that will remain until we see better rain," said Department of Water Affairs spokesman Sputnik Ratau. "Going into the winter with the possibility of snow, we expect next summer we will see a recharge of the system."

Cape Town's reservoir running dry: Satellite images showing Cape Town's dwindling reservoir from Jan 6, 2011 to Jan 24 this year as the city slowly runs out of water. With a population of 3.7 million, the port city on South Africa's south-western coast is suffering from severe drought after three years of low rainfall, threatening water supplies for its residents, businesses and tourism industry. The authorities have warned the city will reach Day Zero, when taps will be turned off, on April 16 unless consumption is drastically reduced. PHOTOS: PLANET LABS, INC

The South African Weather Service is forecasting above-normal rain as the southern hemisphere summer progresses in the north-eastern regions, but says the outlook is uncertain for central areas that include Lesotho.

The overall picture for South Africa is worrying, with Cape Town the most urgent. Its residents, who had their daily limit cut to 50 litres per person from 87 litres starting yesterday, face the grim prospect of the taps running dry.

The government has been urging people across the country to use water more wisely and cut consumption. Nationwide, water storage levels are ranked by the authorities as moderately low on a scale that ranges from high to very low and Lesotho's dwindling supplies are attracting attention.

Mr Jason Hallowes, managing director of water research consultancy and software provider DHI South Africa, said Lesotho's water should not be used at the moment.

The Gauteng system in the northeast, where rainfall is seen to be picking up, could see flooding, which would then waste water flowing down from Katse, he said.

"It would be more prudent to keep this water in these dams rather than release it. The most important dams supporting the system are Katse and Mohale," Mr Hallowes said.

REUTERS

SEE EDITORIAL

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 02, 2018, with the headline South Africa's water crisis spreads. Subscribe