Municipal Communications Manager Simon Mokoatedi said yesterday that the city was currently experiencing a problem in supplying water to its residents, "due to inadequate capacity and unusually high consumption.

"Because of the drought and high maximum temperatures, people are using more water than our supply sources can supply," he explained.

He pointed out that the demand was at a level where water was being drawn directly from the bulk supply lines to supply residents, and there was now simply insufficient water to build up a reserve supply in the city's reservoirs.

He appealed to the public to use water sparingly, and limit the irrigation of gardens to an absolute minimum, as the current supply would only last for ten weeks if the drought persisted.

According to available figures, the Ebenezer Dam, a major supply source is only 35.44 percent full, and the Seshego Dam stands at 39.7 percent of its capacity.

Boreholes that supply the city are also hard pressed to keep up with the increased demand.

Business and industrial enterprises in the city said they were bracing themselves for the restrictions within the next week or ten days, as there seemed to be little likelihood that the situation would change.

Scattered thundershowers occurred in and around the city yesterday, bringing welcome relief from the recent heat wave, but the highest downpour measured only 15 mm.