Gamtoos towns face serious water shortages as Kouga Dam level drops

The Gamtoos Valley towns of Hankey and Patensie face serious water shortages as the level of the Kouga Dam continues to drop.

Kouga Municipality has issued a warning to residents of Hankey and Patensie against the over-usage of water after the annual “dry period” ended on Sunday (1 July).

Infrastructure and Engineering Portfolio Councillor Freddy Campher warned that some people tended to compensate for the period where there was no water in the taps by using a lot of water and even breaking the restrictions.

“On Monday the water level at the Kouga Dam stood at a critical 7,88%. That is alarming and means that there is no luxury for people to waste water as they please.

“In fact, we would like to see residents curb their usage even further to ensure a longer supply of water until the rains come,” he said.

The municipality usually augments the water supply to Hankey with water from the Klein river, but the river level is currently too low because of the drought.

The “dry period” is an annual occurrence when the Gamtoos Irrigation Board performs maintenance work on the canal system which supplies water from the Kouga Dam to Hankey and Patensie.

The dry period ran from 16 June to 1 July this year during which time the municipality supplied water to the towns with tankers.

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