Water restrictions to be lifted in Gauteng #CAPupdate

Johannesburg – On Monday morning, the Department of Water and Sanitation announced that the Vaal Dam had reached a level of 100%, prompting Minister Nomvula Mokonyane to make arrangements for the lifting of water restrictions in Gauteng.

Today at 05:30 the Vaal Dam was at 100% windy inflow 669.75m3/s #SaveWater pic.twitter.com/LEGfxV8ZPk — Water Sanitation SA (@DWS_RSA) February 27, 2017 "[The] Minister said yesterday that we need to gazette the lifting of the water restrictions in Gauteng. Once the government has gazetted that, we will have a discussion with the different municipalities and the municipalities will reverse the water restrictions," said department spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau.

Water levels across the country had risen significantly due to heavy rainfall, said Mokonyane.
This comes after a period of drought which Mokonyane announced might take South Africa two years to recover from. The water levels are at the highest they have been in the past two years.
Mokonyane opened two sluice gates at the Vaal Dam on Sunday afternoon and a flood warning was also issued for residents of Douglas, where the Vaal and Orange rivers meet.

 
Mokonyane said at a press conference on Sunday that a quarter of South Africa’s dams were over 100% full, but that she was still concerned about the levels in the Western Cape, as they had not shown a significant improvement.

Despite the much needed improvement in water levels, Ratau warned South Africans to continue to use water sparingly.

"The water levels in Gauteng are looking very good. There is the next step of lifting the restrictions, but there is also a need to continue conserving water as South Africa," he said.

The department imposed water restrictions in most parts of the country last year in a bid to curb water usage as South Africa struggled with the worst drought in more than a century. 

The Vaal Dam, which is Gauteng’s primary source of water, dropped to an all-time low of 25% last year, prompting water restrictions to be placed in parts of the country.

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