Rustenburg - There is imminent water supply interruptions at Magalies Water's supply schemes of Vaalkop, Wallmansthal, Cullinan and Klipdrift due to a shortage of chlorine, the bulk water supplier said.
“This is due to the shortage of chlorine gas arising from challenges experienced by the country’s two major manufacturers, at their plants. Chlorine is a key component in the water treatment process and any shortages of the chemical will negatively impact our production processes to dispense safe potable water to consumers,” said spokesperson David Magae.
“Manufacturers have been rationing the supply of chlorine gas to its customers and given the fragile state of their manufacturing plant, this trend will continue until August this year when they plan to shutdown to do critical refurbishment.”
He said Magalies Water consumers may be impacted by this situation by having water supply interruptions as the water treatment facilities would not be able to produce the required quantities of water and will therefore have to apportion water equitably.
“We are currently able to meet the demand, but this might change if the chlorine supply to our plants is stopped or significantly reduced.
“Magalies Water has exhausted all options in trying to secure alternative chlorine supply and will keep consumers informed of the situation. Magalies water apologises for the inconvenience caused,” he said.
Meanwhile the department of water and sanitation said national dam levels record a minimal rise owing to continual rainfall.
“The weekly status of reservoirs released by the department of water and sanitation this week demonstrate a minimal improvement of water levels compared to the same period last week and last year respectively.
“The recent increase is attributed to continual rainfall in some parts of the country. This week, the overall storage capacity of the country’s water level sits at 94.3 percent, a slight increment from last week’s 94.2 percent and a notable enhancement from last year’s 85.5 percent,” spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said in a statement on Wednesday.
IOL