Appeal to Use Water Wisely.
South Africa is an arid region characterised by erratic rainfall events and long drought cycles. This is before any adverse influences of climate change are considered. These forces of nature also govern how Plett may access water.
The population of Plett is steadily increasing with many new developments planned and being executed placing an increasing load on our bulk water supply infrastructure which has yet to be augmented to meet the new demands. While the short-term water supply is currently adequate, a drought event could still require curtailing use by implementing water restrictions.
Although Plett has various sources of water, the major portion of the water is pumped from the Keurbooms River. The popular Keurbooms estuary is one of Plett’s greatest natural assets but keeping the ecology healthy requires that the freshwater inflow is maintained placing a limit on what may be abstracted at any time. During times of low flow, we are not permitted to abstract Keurbooms water and must then abstract from our limited storage portion of the small Roodefontein Dam on the Piesang River, the desalination plant and boreholes.
We therefore appeal to all water users to bear this in mind, use water sparingly and effectively, limiting any possible wastage specially during the holiday season when the peak water demand effectively doubles.
