Keep water wise actions top of mind even leading up to winter
28 March 2023
The City of Cape Town
is pleased to see that recent water usage has dropped substantially. For the
first time since the peak of summer, yesterday, Monday, 27 March, water usage was less than the 850 million litres
per day target that the public is urged to stay below to help keep our dams and
reservoirs full for longer. While the usage pattern is expected as weather
temperatures change, a driver of demand during hot days, thank you to the
public who have been doing the right thing to be water wise at all times.
Caption: This graph shows the annual comparative amounts of water in dams from 2018 to 2023. While the current storage level pattern is similar to 2019, it is still too early to indicate whether the pattern will continue.
Over the past month, dam levels have been dropping by about 2% weekly. With recent rain, particularly due to the Berg River Dam, Cape Town's dam levels increased by 3,7%. It currently stands at 59,1%.
Cape Town's collective water usage is currently 844 million litres a day.
'Collectively, Cape Town needs to use less than 850 million litres a day so that we can keep our dams and reservoirs full for longer. Since last week, for the first time yesterday since summer, we have seen our collective water usage drop below the 850 million litres a day target and we thank our residents for their contribution. However, this is not the time to let our guard down, as we still need to continue to use water wisely and not waste it, regardless of the season, and particularly as we approach this winter.
'Our current dam storage figures (as depicted in the graph) are following a similar pattern at this point to that of 2019. Currently our dam levels are manageable and continue to provide water to Cape Town, but collective water wise efforts will continue to help keep us there.
'We had below-average rainfall last year, and this could happen again this year. Using less water will also help reduce the impact of ongoing load-shedding on our water supply system.
'It's never too late to be water wise. Start today, if you haven't done so already,' said Councillor Siseko Mbandezi, acting Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.
See the Top 10 Ways to be Water Wise this autumn.
Reduce personal non-essential outdoor water usage by 50%.
This will help us stay below the target that has been set for daily water usage.
When you are not using your pool, cover it to reduce up to 95% of evaporation losses. If you don't have a pool cover yet, please get one so you don't need to top up your pool as regularly. You should comply with the City's Water By-law which has made pool covers mandatory.
For its part, the City will continue to reduce water wastage through programmes such as pipeline leak detection, annual pipe replacement, and pressure management. The City is also investing in bringing the New Water Programme online, which will see an investment of about R5 billion over the next eight years. The City will introduce 300MLD of new water by 2030 from diverse sources that will help protect us from the worst effects of future droughts.
Regulations about water use in the City's Water By-law are in place at all times (even when there are no restrictions) and following the regulations and water saving tips on the website will go a long way towards achieving the target of 850MLD collective use.
Share your water wise tips with us and hashtag #WaterWiseSummerCT .
'We would love to see what our residents are doing, especially when it comes to outdoor usage such as in their gardens and pools which tend to use a lot of water.
'Sharing your tips with us and hashtag #WaterWiseSummerCT is an opportunity for all of us to learn from each other and save together,' said Councillor Mbandezi.
Visit www.capetown.gov.za/savewater
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
