Municipalities are taking more water from dams than they are allowed. One municipality regularly exceeds its water allocation limit yet it received top marks for water management from the water department.
Overstrand Municipality has exceeded its water allocation limit more than 80% of the time since 2003, yet simultaneously received top marks for water management from the water department.
The Department of Water and Sanitation lacks effective monitoring systems, with officials admitting “nobody is keeping track of who is over-extracting”.
Over-extraction has led to environmental disasters, playing a part in the destruction of the 12,000-year-old Onrus peatland, and has brought municipalities like Nelson Mandela Bay close to “day zero” water shortages.
