All of the Western Cape’s desalination plants are finally online and producing roughly 8-million litres of water a day.
Despite delays due to a number of complications, the Monwabisi, Strandfontein and V&A Waterfront desalinations plants have reached completion and will help support the City of Cape Town’s strained water supply.
Due to the National Department of Water and Sanitation’s failure to augment water supply infrastructure in the metro, the City of Cape Town has had to construct its own bulk water supply infrastructure. To prevent the drought from ever returning to the Western Cape, money accrued from the water tariff increases is being spent to maintain this infrastructure.
In addition to the plants being online, residents continue to save more and more water. Last week, Deputy Mayor, Ian Neilson said the City’s average water consumption is still below the 500-million litre threshold.
“I commend all the residents who continue to comply with water restrictions as a means of preserving the City’s precious water resources. I furthermore commend the staff of the City of Cape Town for their hard work and unwavering commitment to ensuring Cape Town’s taps don’t run dry,” said Neilson.
He added that the City remains committed to improving the livelihoods of all residents and relentless in their efforts of ensuring the sustainability of water resources for the benefit of locals.