The City of Tshwane has implemented “water shedding” – restricting water flow to areas across the municipality as residents have ignored the call to cut water use.

City mayor Solly Msimanga has announced a number of water-saving measures being implemented, including the throttling of the city’s water supply to keep reservoirs at good levels.

There will also be a scheduled “load-shedding” plan, while flow restrictors will be installed at high water consumption users.

Among the types of areas that will face these restrictions are retirement villages, complexes and businesses.

The city said it will also set up a customer care centre and SMS line so that residents and citizens can quickly report water leaks and burst pipes.

The city issued a call for all citizens to reduce their water usage by 15% in August – but residents failed to heed the directive, managing only to reduce usage by a paltry 2.7%.

This left the city with no other option but to restrict water themselves, Msimanga said.

South Africa is facing an extremely hot and dry summer, with the Weather Service expecting extreme drought conditions – which have knocked the country for much of the year – to persist at above-normal rates over the next few months through to December.

Certain areas in the country – such as KwaZulu Natal, and regions in the Free State, Mpumalanga and the North-West – will not be affected as badly, as some rainfall is expected to drop.

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