Water usage has spiked by 5% in Cape Town, pushing consumption up to 542-million litres of water per day – far above the targeted 450-million per day. This spike occurred between last week and this week’s dam level reading.
Cape Town Deputy Mayor Ian McNeilson said the fall in dam levels can be partly attributed to environmental influences such as higher temperatures causing evaporation, but the increase in water usage by the City’s residents has also contributed.
“We have made great progress so far, but we are not yet out of the woods,” McNeilson said. “We must continue to keep our usage as low as possible.”
The City has warned that water consumption needs to be reduced to 450-million litres of water per day, or 50 litres per person, to keep within the allocation provided to the City by the National Department of Water and Sanitation. McNeilson adds that this target must be achieved in order to stretch the available water supplies as far as possible into the winter months and throughout the remainder of the year.
“Although the winter months will likely bring more rain, we cannot estimate how much rain we will have, or count on it having a significant impact on our dam levels,” the Deputy Mayor said.
The City will continue its drought interventions, including pressure management, accelerated leak repair, Level 6b restrictions and increased tariffs to deter high water usage. These methods will be employed to ensure that the City and all of its residents will have enough water through the drought.
Residents of the City are also encouraged to show their support and participation in saving water by clicking here and getting their free #50LitreLife profile picture.
Picture: HSM Images/Sean Dollery