George Municipality’s water saving programme hopes to ensure there’s enough supply of drinking water for residents. Picture: Supplied.
Cape Town - George Municipality has embarked on a Water Saving Programme to ensure that residents have continuous access to drinking water.
The municipality has experienced extensive burst pipes throughout the past year as well as infrastructure damage caused by floods between November 22 and December 6 last year.
Municipal spokesperson, Chantel Edwards, said that the use of drinking water each day in George is currently higher than the amount of water being purified by the water treatment works.
‘’We are asking all residents, businesses, including construction companies, schools, sports facilities to please carefully review their use of drinking water and to make a conscious decision to cut back on wastage, and the unnecessary use of drinking water.
‘’Residents should note that although the Garden Route dam level remains at 100%, this is raw water storage and not portable or drinking water supply. The Municipality is appealing to the residents to use water sparingly and only for basic necessities in particular, during peak times. Peak times are between 7am and 9am, noon and 2pm and between 5pm and 8pm,“ she said.
The City of Cape Town also notified residents about the country’s shortage of chlorine supply, specifically of the liquid gas chlorine used to treat water to drinking standards.
However, the City’s Mayco Member for Water and Sanitation, Dr Zahid Badroodien said that the City had contingency plans.
‘’Residents are assured that Cape Town currently has chlorine supply at all water treatment plants, is taking delivery of further stock next week, and tap water is safe to drink. Cape Town is planning for an extended period of supply constraints and is executing contingency plans to ensure chlorine is available to meet the national SANS241 drinking water quality standards at all times.
‘’While there is ample water in our dams, we need to ensure treated drinking water can be supplied sustainably throughout the period of national chlorine supply constraints. In particular, residents should aim to be water-wise in their daily routines,’’ he said.
The George Municipality calls on residents to report water leaks and burst pipes to 044 801 9262/66 or after hours at 044 801 6300, of via formal channels of gmun@george.gov.za or George Municipal app. Each fault must be correctly logged and receive a reference number in order to save time in assigning repair teams.
Weekend Argus