Molewa's visit coincides with the start of National Water Week, a government initiative aimed at bringing home to all South Africans the need to conserve and use water wisely and sparingly.
"The visit to the illegal water user will be an example to other irrigation farmers who put the entire Vaal River System water supply at risk", the department's Themba Khumalo told The New Age. 180 million cubic metres a year in the Upper Vaal water management area are being used illegally, he said, adding that the abuse also includes 34 million cubic metres a year in the Middle Vaal and 30 million in the Lower Vaal - totalling an estimated 244 million cubic metres a year, more than 15% of the total volume of water in the entire Vaal River System. The Vaal system supplies water to 60% of the national economy and to 20 million people, Khumalo said.
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