Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) has revealed that there is a water shortage crisis in designated urban areas where Wasco provides portable water supply services.
In a press statement Wasco indicated this is due to the currently prevalent weather conditions. “There has not been adequate rainfall for some time now. As a result, the availability of water in the raw water sources in most operating centres is not adequate to meet the demand.
The hardest hit towns are: Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Maputsoe, Mapoteng, Quthing and Mohale’shoek, which are currently experiencing water supply shortages,” the statement indicated.
Other towns are expected to introduce restrictions in water usage from December 2018 as the storage dam levels continue to decrease. In the towns of Teyateyaneng, Morija, Roma and Maseru water supply is stable because the Metolong reservoir level is satisfactory.
However, areas within the capital city such as Moshoeshoe II, Maseru East, Maqalika and Selakhapane that are serviced from the Maseru Water Supply Treatment Plant are experiencing inconsistency in supply.
“This is due to inadequate flow in the Caledon river.
WASCO resorted to the use of the Maqalika reservoir which sometimes is unable to provide enough water to meet the demand,” the statement further indicated.
In addition to the use of Maqalika dam in Maseru, the Company has implemented a number of measures to save water and these include: finding and repairing burst and leaking pipes, improved response time for complaints, replacing old and ageing water infrastructure, as well as rehabilitation of supply network.
Other measures taken during this season include requests for water releases into the Tšehlanyane river from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and water flow diversion at some of the raw water sources like the Qomoqomong river in Quthing and ‘Maletsunyane in Semonkong.
WASCO continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to inform them about the situation and initiate relevant partnerships in an effort to stay above the water scarcity challenge. People are therefore advised to use water efficiently during this time.
They can adopt efficient use of water practices such as using buckets when washing cars, watering cans for gardening, attending to dripping pipelines in their homes, using a cup in the kitchen or bathroom when drinking and brushing teeth.
