As water usage rises to pre-drought levels, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has urged residents and businesses to support the City’s proactive water savings target of using less than 850 million litres daily. Dam levels are 62%, almost 25% lower than last year, due to below-average rainfall in Cape Town.
In addition to the risk of another below-average winter rainfall season, sustained high levels of loadshedding can disrupt drinking water production and reticulation, which may affect high-lying residential properties.
Also read: The City urges less water usage as dam levels continue to drop
This summer, Cape Town urges residents and businesses to conserve water. The City has set a water-wise daily usage target of 850 million litres to reduce the risk of another below-average winter rainfall and improve water supply reliability during loadshedding.
Frequent periods of high loadshedding stages limit the City’s reservoir reserves and drinking water reticulation. Summer water conservation can reduce these risks.
“Capetonians have always stood together, and I’m asking Team Cape Town to again stand as one as we aim to collectively use less than 850 million litres daily. Staying within this target will help us maintain supply during sustained high stages of load-shedding, and put us in a better position next summer if we again have below-average winter rainfall,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
He also stated that the dams that supply Cape Town are losing about 2% of their total dam capacity on a weekly basis. We used 949 million litres of water per day over the last week. This amounts to 99 million litres per day more than the collective use target.
Cape Town’s dams are still above 50%, but our models show that if we don’t meet this proactive water savings target, dam levels will fall below 50% by the end of summer. This may necessitate water restrictions in the future, which the City would prefer to avoid.
What the City is doing to help:
- The City will continue to reduce water waste through programmes such as leak detection, annual pipe replacement, and pressure management.
- The City is investing in bringing online the New Water Programme, which will see an investment of about R5 billion over the next eight years. The City will introduce 300MLD (million litres daily) of new water by 2030 from diverse sources that will help protect us from the worst effects of future droughts.
- The first water from the Table Mountain Group Aquifer came in 2020, and the first water from the Cape Flats Aquifer is expected to be put into the supply network around the middle of 2023.
- The City is targeting a 55 billion litre reduction in annual water losses by ramping up alien vegetation clearing. In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the City’s R50 million investment over the next two years will be matched by private donations, increasing clearing efforts to 9,000 hectares per year from the current 1,250 hectares per year.
“We believe that reducing our water use now is the responsible step to take, both in terms of load-shedding disruptions, and in case we again have below-average winter rainfall. Capetonians can help by reducing outdoor water use, such as watering gardens, filling or topping up pools, and following the permanent water use regulations. Together we can achieve a water-wise Cape Town!” said Councillor Siseko Mbandezi, Acting Member of the Mayoral Committee for Water and Sanitation.
What residents can do to help:
Indoors:
- Find and fix leaks. High water use could mean you have an undetected, expensive leak.
- Only flush when necessary, and do not use your toilet as a dustbin. New or replaced toilet cisterns may not exceed six litres for each flush.
- Take short, stop-start showers or small baths. The maximum flow rate of new and replaced showerheads may not exceed seven litres.
- Wash more with less, for laundry and dishes. Only wash clothes and dishes (pots, cups, etc.) when really needed. Wait for a full load before using washing machines and dishwashers. Hand washing and spot cleaning can use less water.
- Turn off taps when not in use.
Outdoors:
- Close the hose when washing the car. Hosepipes for washing vehicles, boats, and caravans must be fitted with an automatic self-closing device.
- Stop, start, and slow your spray. Use a controlling device at the end of the hose, like a sprayer nozzle or automatic self-closing device.
- Only use water before 9am or after 6pm to avoid evaporation losses.
- Supervise the very careful use of water for children’s play and cooling in the hot summer months. Eg, use a wet cloth to cool down hot skin and avoid wasteful spraying of water.
- Swim, cover, and save, then repeat. Built-in and fold-away pools must be covered when not in use to prevent up to 95% of evaporation losses. Recycle the backwash, and top up with rainwater or alternative water where possible.
Regulations about water use in the City’s water bylaw are in place at all times, and following them will go a long way towards achieving the target of 850 million litres daily collective use.
Also read:
Cape legislature call for end to extortion by construction mafia
Picture: Unsplash