Magalies Water unable to abstract water at the Vaalkop Dam
By Dimakatso Genkoe
Magalies Water has urged its customers to use water sparingly.
This as it has been forced to immediately reduce water abstraction from Vaalkop Dam near Rustenburg in the North West by 30%, due to low water levels.
“Vaalkop Dam which Magallies Water abstracts raw water for potable usage has regrettably reached critically low levels of about 23% of available raw water for abstraction,” read a statement from the entity.
Areas that fall under the Rustenburg, Moses Kotane, and Thabazimbi Local Municipalities including the local mines, are the ones mostly affected by the water challenges.
In addition, the entity states that the current situation has been exacerbated by below-average rainfall, heatwave, and the deterioration of raw water quality due to pollution.
Magalies Water said the situation has also impacted its ability to produce the requisite water volumes.
“At this stage, the raw water pumps have not been able to abstract much needed raw water volumes for treatment purposes, as a result of the low dam level,” added the statement
The entity warned that if abstraction volumes are not reduced this can result in the complete damage of the pumps, which are designed to operate optimally in different conditions.