SABRINA DEAN – Officials at the Mangaung Metropolitan Municiaplity are about to hold a meeting regarding an email that has been circulating about the implementation of water restrictions on 1 July.
Spokesperson Qondile Khedama told Bloemfontein Courant a meeting will get underway within half-an-hour and he will provide feedback later this afternoon.
The email comprises a copy of a notice published in the Government Gazette on 14 March this year, in which Water Affairs Acting Director General Trevor Balzer announced the restrictions. These include restrictions on domestic and industrial supply to the Mangaung Metropolitan Supply area, as well as irrigation restrictions for farms along the Modder River.
Balzer said in the notice he believes there are reasonable grounds to indicate a water shortage in the Caledon Modder subsystem, especially in the Modder River catchment. “This is due to insufficient rains and infrastructural constraints that are limiting transfer capacity from the Caledon to the Modder sub-system,” he said.