The City of Cape Town thanks all of its water ambassadors for continuing to save water despite the heavy rainfall of the past week and the announcement that Day Zero will not happen this year or the next.

‘Every bit of water that we save now will become a buffer against the heat and wind of the summer months ahead. The less we use, the better chance our dams have of recovering from the severe drought. We believe that the main reason for the improved collective water usage figure is weather-related. Many people may have decided to delay doing their laundry and other water-intensive chores over the weekend because of the heavy rains. We are also in the middle of our winter, which traditionally is associated with the lowest usage. However, there are also many water users who continue to save water and to think about what they are doing with their drinking water. We must ensure that we stay on the water-saving path,’ said the City’s Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson.

Average water consumption for the past week has reached a record low of 481 million litres per day. Dam levels have again improved significantly by 5,6% to 48,3% of storage capacity largely due to heavy rains.

Cape Town must continue to build a water buffer for the summer ahead and to help our dams recover from the extreme drought. Any decision by the City of Cape Town to lower current water restrictions and thus the tariffs associated with them is dependent on National Government relaxing the restriction on water releases from the dams.

Remember to tune in at 10.30, 12.30 and 15.30 for the SMILE ECO-REPORT for the latest on dam levels, usage statistics, all general water information and everything else related to the environment.

Visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater for more.