Good rains of up to 77mm on the Garden Route over the past couple of days have left most towns with enough water to comfortably meet the deadlines by which their augmentation schemes will be completed.

However residents have been warned that lower-than-average March rainfall means water restrictions still need to be adhered to.

George civil engineering services manager Harold Basson said yesterday the Garden Route Dam level was now at 24.6%.

“The Garden Route Dam was at its historical lowest level (16.9%) on Monday, February 22. The level has increased by 7.7 percentage points since last week’s rain,” he said.

He said the level’s rise meant the volume in the dam would be at a much improved level by the time the town’s waste water recycling plant was completed. “More water in the dam provides a better mixing of treated sewage.”

Basson said they had received complaints from residents about brown water in certain parts of George which was a direct result of the low dam level affecting the quality of the raw water.

“The manganese and iron levels in the raw water are excessively high. The treatment process had to be adapted to treat these extraordinary levels. Every possible effort is made to rectify the process to treat the water to acceptable levels.”

He said although the brown water was not pleasing to the eye, it posed no health risks.

Basson said the town’s water consumption had increased after the rain. He warned residents that the drought still left the town in a critical situation. Water restrictions were still in place.

“George was blessed with the best rainfall we have had in more than a year. The perception is possible that the worst of crisis is over. Many private rain tanks have been filled, but unfortunately not nearly enough for the dam,” Basson said.

The waste water recycling plant was still on track and due for completion in May.

Mossel Bay municipal spokesman Harry Hill said the town had received 77mm last week, pushing the Wolwedans Dam up by 4.2 points to 34%.

“Our latest estimate is that Mossel Bay will now have water until August.” However, all water restrictions would remain in place.

Hill said the R49-million project to produce about 5Ml a day of purified effluent for industrial use at PetroSA had started and was due to be commissioned in June, easing pressure on the Wolwedans Dam.

Source: The Herald Online

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