The City of Cape Town has sounded an early warning alarm as the dams supplying the Metro with water have now dropped to just 50%.
The City says this is due to spiking water usage, coupled with last week’s heat wave.
Residents have now been prompted to use water only for strictly essential purposes, as the outlook for winter shows below-average rainfall.
“Team Cape Town, we have done it before and can do it again. As Cape Town experiences soaring temperatures this week, our call is for Team Cape Town to please keep hydrated and cool, while remembering to use water wisely and responsibly in and around our homes, businesses and industries, and for essential purposes only.”
The MMC for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, says our collective water usage (currently well above 1,000 mega-litres per day) between now and May is crucial.
He says, based on the current water usage trend, dam storage levels could drop as low as 40% by May.
“Cape Town is in an early warning phase that reflects lower-than-expected dam levels and signals the need for continued careful use of water, even though taps are running normally.”
He says while we are not in a drought, the window to avoid water restrictions later this year is narrowing.
“We are at a pivotal stage in our water journey this hydrological year, also known as the rainy season, where every drop matters now and together, we can still change the high usage trend we have been seeing over recent weeks, to manage our dam levels.”
Essential tips to keep water usage down:
- Find and fix water leaks on your property.
- If dripping taps, leaking toilets and faulty plumbing go undetected and ignored for a long time, a lot of water is wasted.
- Monitor your own usage and make the effort to save water.
- Only water the garden at night to prevent evaporation and avoid topping up swimming pools or pool inflatables unnecessarily.
- Switch to treated effluent re-use for industrial irrigation or construction purposes.
- Report burst municipal pipes immediately to the City through formal channels.
Ways to report a leak or a pipe burst:
- Call 086 010 3089 (select option 2)
- SMS 31373
- WhatsApp 060 018 1505
- Email water@capetown.gov.za
More information HERE.
