On Monday, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu called on South Africans to urgently cut back on their water usage, with proper rain only expected in December.
Officials are worried over the increase in consumption in South Africa with proper rain only expected to hit the country around December.
Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said she would be announcing a master plan next month, including restrictions that residents would have to adhere to.
Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Monday said South Africa was under water stress and her department would be announcing a master plan next month to urgently address the issue.
The city said that its reservoirs were drying up.
It said that municipalities in Gauteng, the North West, Free State and Mpumalanga would have their water flow throttled in order to meet the current demand.
The Department of Water and Sanitation said it hoped that rain predicted for later this week would bolster the falling dam levels.
Parts of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane have been hit with water restrictions.
Officials say drinking water’s running low in these areas, following an unpredicted increase in water consumption over the holiday period.
Swellendam municipal manager Anton Groenewald says that an unpredicted increase in water consumption over the holiday period in Suurbraak and Barrydale is worrying.
Residents have no running water for most of the day following the implementation of the measures on Christmas Eve.
Droughts close to this magnitude have occurred in the past (for example in the late 1920s, early 1970s, and 2003 to 2004) and led to water shortages in Cape Town.
Several areas in the province have been hit by water interruptions over the weekend imposed by Rand Water due to decreasing dam levels and electricity challenges.
The Water and Sanitation Department says dam levels across the country have been dropping at an alarming rate, but the figures are still better compared to last year this time.
Political analyst Sithembile Mbete says although these issues come down to municipal and provincial governance, many won't see it that way.
A study done by researchers at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town found residents responded more strongly to the possibility of taps running dry than to tough water restrictions.
Over the weekend, the City of Cape Town increased the amount of water that citizens can use per day from 70 liters to 105 liters.
Temperatures are expected to peak between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius, but Johannesburg Water says residents still need to use water sparingly.
