Cape Town’s collective water consumption for the past week increased to 610 million litres per day.

Although usage has gone up, residents are doing well to remain within the target of 650 million litres of collective usage per day. This will help the City’s dams to recover and to build a solid foundation for a more water-sensitive city in years to come.

The comment period for the City’s Draft Water Strategy attracted 173 public comments and recommendations during the month-long public participation period.
The primary purpose of this strategy is to ensure that Cape Town will be more resilient to future droughts.
Following a process of intensive engagement, the Draft Water Strategy was prepared with a range of local and international water experts for the consideration and feedback by Cape Town’s residents.

A total of 173 responses were received from members of the public. The number of responses can be categorised as follows:

• 81,5% from residents
• 19% from businesses
• 19,65% from academics
• 11% from civil society organisations
• 7% from non-profit organisations

‘The City would like to thank members of the public who took the time to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Gauging from the comments, it quite clear that a large number of people took the time to read and to provide constructive comments and suggestions on the Draft Water Strategy,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.

As part of the next steps in the process over the coming months, the valuable feedback received will be collated and where appropriate, be incorporated in the Draft Water Strategy.

All comments will be considered and responded to. The Draft Strategy will serve before the Water and Waste Portfolio Committee to assess if the public input has been duly considered. It will then be recommended to the Mayoral Committee for onward submission to Council for approval.

‘This strategy is the product of extensive work conducted by the City in consultation with a range of local and international water experts and has been created to protect Cape Town from the harsh effects of drought in the future. We aim to do everything possible to avoid the implementation of such severe water restrictions again. We have to be prepared for the likelihood of increasing risk and vulnerability in the coming years in the face of climate change, the growth of alien vegetation, delays in building new surface water schemes, and over-allocation of the integrated water system.

‘We have now entered a time which is characterised by great uncertainty, where previous models for weather predictions and associated planning can no longer be relied on. I am confident that the strategy, once finalised, will guide Cape Town towards greater water resilience. Water supply and demand must be reconciled to ensure that there is sufficient water available to meet the anticipated demand,’ said Councillor Limberg.

The City’s efforts to become a water-sensitive city and the interventions necessary to do so, will be introduced in consultation with residents.

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