WATER WEEKLY 9 | 3 May 2019
Welcome to our latest edition of Water Weekly. Please continue to #SaveOurWater as you have been doing by sticking to your 50 litres per person per day limit.
Heart-warming water story
Matthew Weaver, who recently graduated with his PhD in Water Resource Science, was the last doctoral student supervised by the late Emeritus Professor Jay O’Keeffe, Founding Director of the Institute for Water Research (IWR).
Weaver spoke to fourth-year BJourn student Zandile Hlabangane about his close connection with his supervisor, Professor O’Keeffe. You can find the interview here.
Settler’s Dam, Howisons Poort Dam & Waainek Water Works
According to Makana Municipality, the recent rains did little to raise the water levels of the Western-side dams. Settler’s remains out of commission, and Howisons is at around 27% full, meaning it could run dry at any time. Amatola Water stated that the plan is to preserve as much of this water for the high-lying areas.
Moving water from East to West
According to recent tests done by the municipality, pumping water from the East to the West side of town is proving more difficult than anticipated. Amatola Water, MBB and Makana Municipality said they are working on a plan to best overcome this obstacle.
Boreholes and JoJo tanks
Several JoJo tanks are currently being strategically placed (usually close to fire hydrants) in both the East and West sides of town. The municipality has indicated that these will be used in case of prolonged water interruptions, so that water can be available for rationing to Makhanda’s residents.
Boreholes are currently in the process of being fitted with pumps and will hopefully be integrated into the town’s purification plants, according to Makana Municipality.
The Municipality is urging residents to please continue reducing water usage as much as possible.
Going forward
The Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 community is reminded that it is not “business as usual”. We are in the throes of a significant water crisis and only if everyone does their part, will we overcome this.
Thank you for working through these difficult times with us. Please keep the conversation about #SaveOurWater going at communications@ru.ac.za.