The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has imposed an 18% restriction on the Greater Bloemfontein Water Supply System following confirmation by a yearly operating analysis that restrictions are required when the system storage is below the median of the projected system storage.

The water demands for the system exceed the yield of the system, with restrictions to be lifted when the system is spilling.

While water restrictions are required for the Greater Bloemfontein Water Supply System within the Orange River System, the department has not recommended any restrictions within the Orange River Project for this operating year, which runs from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024.

The Orange River Project comprises  Vanderkloof and Gariep dams, in the Free State, and Katse and Mohale dams, in Lesotho.

“On May 1, 2023, the decision date for water resources budgeting in the system, the combined storage capacity level of the dams was at 97.5%. This is a decrease of 2.2% when compared with the previous operating year,” the DWS said in a statement on Thursday.

The combined gross storage for Katse and Mohale was at 99.5%, an increase of 0.6% when compared with the same period in the previous operating year.

“Following monitoring performance from the previous operating year and the fact that Vanderkloof and Gariep dams warrant flexibility in terms of operation with regards to releases and power generation, a discretional allocation of 251-million cubic metres has been allocated to Eskom for the 2023/24 operating year.”

In the Greater Bloemfontein Water Supply System, the gross storage of the system on May 1, 2023, was at 98.9%. The system experienced a decrease of 1.1% when compared with the same period in the previous operating year.

The system will be monitored by the DWS to ensure compliance.

“The sustainability of the future water supply in the Orange River System requires that water users continue to use water carefully and be mindful of the growing demands and the uncertainty of supply, given the region’s highly variable climate,” the DWS concluded.