The days of plentiful water supply in Cape Town may very well be over, Mayor Patricia de Lille has warned.
Ms de Lille was speaking at a Council meeting, announcing heightened level four water restrictions in Cape Town as it grapples with the worst drought it has seen in a century.
“Water is not to be taken for granted. To run out of useable water is to be presented with a crisis of catastrophic proportions. We have had water restrictions in place since 2005, which were intensified in December 2015 – 18 months ago…And as per practice over many decades, we have relied on winter rainfall to replenish the dam system that satisfies our water needs,” she said.
“We are now achieving daily use of about 666 million litres of water, against a current target of 600 million litres…At this point in time it is important to take stock of the situation. It is important to test our assumptions on how we traditionally manage water in the city. What has worked very well in the past may not be the best model going forward,” she continued.
Ms de Lille said the city traditionally relied on winter rains to replenish its water levels, but with poor rainfall thus far during May, the confidence in weather prediction is low.
“We need a new relationship with water. The days of plentiful water supply in Cape Town may very well be over. And even if abundance emerges in one or two years from now, we cannot be sure it will last,” she said. “We need to embrace the fact that water scarcity is the The New Normal and all our future planning must accept that we are living in a drought-stricken area. We all need to change our approach to scarcity. It does not mean that our lives should be diminished or the economy negatively affected.”
Tighter restrictions
de Lille said the new water restrictions that will mitigate the short term possibility of acute water shortages and ensure that Cape Town builds a water resilient city in the medium- to long-term.
“Council will consider a move to Level 4 water restrictions today. This prohibits the use of potable water outside of the house and it implores each of us to use no more than 100 litres of water each day. Think 100 litres,” she said.
“We are in a critical situation and to build resilience to acute water shortages we need to push even harder and reduce water usage city-wide to 500 million litres of water per day…as Council will not meet until the end of July, I am also requesting Council to support further restrictions, 4B, that can be implemented in the next 60 days,” de Lille added.
Such restrictions would be more closely aligned with a 500 million litre per day goal, and would be consequently more restrictive.
“My commitment is that we will do everything possible to ensure that this city thrives and flourishes. But that starts with a new understanding and respect for the scarcity of water and The New Normal,” she concluded.
[Image – CC PS Photography]
