Capetonians can expect dry taps as the Metro rolls out Phase One of its Critical Water Shortages Disaster Plan. Pre-selected suburbs can anticipate possible water outages for short periods of time, especially in the mornings and evenings. Affected residents are advised to store five litres for essential use.
“The new normal requires us to adapt the way that we have been doing things, in all aspects of our lives,”said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.
Cape Town water consumption has dropped to 607 million litres per day from 618 million, however, the City is targeting a consumption of 500 million litres a day.
With dam levels increasing at a slow pace, the City’s water problems are expected to linger longer. Province water levels are hovering around 37% for the past week. On Monday, the Theewaterskloof Dam stood at 28.3% and the Voëlvlei Dam at 26.7%.
On top of the water restrictions, the City will be launching a “Save Like A Local” campaign which will include airport billboards in various languages, branded flags in the CBD and Waterfront and mobile billboards on beaches and tourist centres. The campaign will raise awareness among tourists to save water while they are in the city.
“If this year’s tourist season is similar to last year’s, we can expect a bumper season and we will need all visitors to ‘save like a local’ and follow the example of many of our water ambassadors” said Limberg. The City has already approached cellphone companies to ensure the campaign reaches the right ears.
Photography Unsplash
