The Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation authorized Rand Water, to increase abstraction with an estimated 200 Millilitres a day (Ml/day).
Rand Water’s Makenosi Maroo, said the water utility currently abstracts raw water from the Integrated Vaal River System through the Vaal Dam, in accordance with a licence issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
The licence provides for an equivalent of about 4 383 Ml/day.
The updated licence gives right to abstract daily 5 139 Ml daily, until the end of June 2026.
“Upon the expiry of the temporary licence, abstraction will revert to 1 803 000 000 m3/a (4 936 Ml/day) until end of September 2026” she said.
The Department is also expected to review the updated licence, at the end of June.
Of the 5,170 Ml per day, about 210 Ml is supplied as raw water to licensed users, such as Eskom, ArcelorMittal and other smaller consumers.
Of the remaining 4,960 Ml per day, about 3,700 Ml of drinking water is purified and pumped from the Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant.
The remainder is sent to the Vereeniging Water Treatment Plant.
Rand Water also said water use by Gauteng’s three Metros exceeds total allocation of 260Ml/d.
The City of Johannesburg exceeds by 190Ml/d, Tshwane by 185Ml/d and Ekurhuleni by 117Ml/d.