The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is calling on everyone who lives, works or plays in Cape Town to be water-wise at all times.
The City’s latest statistics show that the six major dams in the province’s combined average water level stand at about 65%, compared to 90% at the same time last year.
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Theewaterskloof, which accounts for more than 50% of the province’s total dam capacity, is currently at 61.3% of capacity, while the next biggest dam, Voëlvlei, is currently at 51.2%.
The city has proactively set a maximum limit for Cape Town’s collective water use of no more than 850 million litres per day, which is meant to help maintain the supply so we can keep the dams and reservoirs fuller for longer and navigate the impact of prolonged high stages of loadshedding that are affecting water supply operations.
“Over summer, the collective water usage has increased significantly. We are currently using 969 million litres of water per day (MLD), which is 119MLD above the required target of 850MLD, and dam levels are dropping about 2,2% a week. We need all hands on deck to reduce this current rate of water use to stay below the limit,” said Councillor Siseko Mbandezi, the City’s Acting Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.
Mbandezi continued, “The City is providing water-saving tips and urging residents to take action. Let’s all do our part by using water wisely, fixing leaks, and following permanent water-saving regulations. This will help reduce the impact of water and sanitation disruptions and avoid restrictions. I specifically want to ask residents to be aware of and reduce their outdoor water use, such as watering gardens, refilling or topping up pools, and hosing down hard surfaces, which can contribute the most to their domestic water use at this time of year.”
Mbandezi said that using less water will help with operational problems. These problems are caused by things like heavy loadshedding and summer weather, which make it hard for water treatment plants to get water to reservoirs and other parts of Cape Town, especially high-lying areas where water has to be pumped.
“Cape Town has been enjoying hot weather over the festive season, so residents are reminded of the restrictions related to pools, outdoor water use such as gardening, vehicle cleaning, and other aspects that are in place at all times to help save water because we are in a water-scarce region,” concluded Councillor Mbandezi.
The City has suggested 10 ways to be water-wise this summer, which can be found here.
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Picture: Cape {town} Etc Gallery