City of Cape Town is encouraged by water usage
The City of Cape Town is encouraged by water usage over the past month and the continued wise use of water during the drought recovery period. Read more below:
Although dam levels have been declining somewhat as expected, due to the hot and windy weather of summer, water consumption over the past month has remained on the conservative side, which is helping Cape Town through the drought recovery period by reducing the impact on the dams.
The average water usage, which has remained under 600 million litres of collective usage per day for the period (the Level 3 restrictions stipulate collective usage of 650 million litres per day), is likely due to the water-wise behavioural shifts which occurred during the drought crisis period; and to the closure of some businesses and industry over the festive season. This reduction has balanced the water usage associated with the arrival of visitors to Cape Town. The City also engaged with some hospitality industry partners prior to the peak season to encourage them to continue water-wise messages in their establishments.
‘Restrictions remain on a fairly strict drought recovery level as a precaution to deal with rainfall uncertainty in 2019 and 2020.
‘We encourage Cape Town’s water ambassadors to maintain their water-wise approach during the drought recovery phase and as the metro moves towards becoming a more water-sensitive city in the near future. We see 2019 as a recovery year after having successfully emerged from the severe and unprecedented drought. Based on our own assessment, we will continue to follow a conservative approach in light of the rainfall uncertainty over the coming two years. This is not only a period of recovery for our dams, but also for our economy as a whole as well as for our residents and businesses who truly made huge sacrifices to help us get Cape Town through the drought,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste Services, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.
Overview of dam levels and consumption:
14 January 2019
The levels of the dams which supply Cape Town declined by 1,1% over the past week to 63,1% of storage capacity. This is compared to dam levels of 28,8% at the same time last year.
The average water consumption increased by 25 million litres per day to 595 million litres per day for the past week, which is well within the Level 3 usage range of 650 million litres of collective usage per day. This increase is likely due to many formal residential households returning to Cape Town after the festive season as well as the start of the new school year.
Please see the following links for information on:
- Level 3 restriction guidelines: http://bit.do/L3-guide
- Level 3 water and sanitation tariffs: http://bit.do/L3-tariffs
- Level 3 overview: http://bit.do/L3-overview
- Level 3 FAQs: http://bit.do/L3-faqs