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UCT doing its bit to help Cape Town save water

The University of Cape Town (UCT), with just close to 30 000 students enrolled on its campuses, has said it will do its bit to help Cape Town save water.

Cape Town has a daily water usage target of 500 million litres and the municipality has said it’s going to take the efforts of all residents and visitors to bring usage, currently at 585 million litres, down below the target.

“The water crisis is very serious not only because of the threat of running out of water, but because planned interventions are likely to be very costly, perhaps even unaffordable,” UCT said.

“Residents in the Western Cape need to be much better prepared to deal with the long-term consequences of being a warmer, drier region. New ways need to be found to reduce the cost of water by reducing municipal water demand through the reuse of water and in using a range of alternative water supplies.”

The university said the lack of water data is a major obstacle to mounting an effective water conservation programme, however, a number of interventions are currently being implemented. Among these are:

  • The water-storage capacity of the earth dam on the main campus has been improved by removing the vegetation that was obstructing the flow of storm water into the dam. A long-standing leak was repaired by replacing valves in the off-take pipeline from the dam.
  • A long-neglected borehole on the main campus has been repaired and a second borehole tested to determine its operation and yield. These water sources could be used for irrigating critical areas on the campus or used as an emergency water supply should the need arise, but not for drinking purposes.
  • UCT’s water reticulation system is being collated on a single geographic information system (GIS) map. The task team is working with the City of Cape Town to identify and verify water meters across the campuses. Some meters will be converted to a digital metering system for real-time water monitoring, thus enabling much better control over water consumption.
  • Contingency plans for managing the water risk are being developed by Properties and Services and with the support of the Water Task Team. These plans will deal with various scenarios, including the need for water in the event of a fire, for unblocking sewerage pipes, and for sanitation and drinking in the absence of potable water.

UCT said in the long term, the aim is to align UCT with new thinking and practices that are guided by water-sensitive principles

“The long-term plan is to ensure that UCT is capable of being a leading example of sustainable water management and is better prepared to respond to climate change,” the university said.

[Image – CC BY SA 2.0 Ian Barbour]

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