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- For the latest updates, follow News24 reporter James de Villiers: @pejames
18 Jan 2018
From February 1, with the implementation of Level 6B water restrictions, Cape Town residents will be limited to 50 litres (previously 87 litres) of water per person, per day, in a bid to reduce consumption and stave off a "Day Zero" scenario.
18 Jan 2018
It is unpredictable what rainfall levels will be expected in the years ahead... "If any," De Lille adds.
18 Jan 2018
De Lille: "If we reduce water usage you can still have your water delivered to your houses. If not, you will have to queue for water."
18 Jan 2018
De Lille: "The City's staff is reducing leaks extensively. Treated effluent system is being distributed to reduce dependency on drinking water.
"The team is working very hard to implement water augmentation schemes. This alone will not be enough to avoid Day Zero without Cape Town [residents] reducing consumption."
18 Jan 2018
Should 'Day Zero' arrive, there will be approximately 200 sites for water distribution, according to Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille.
18 Jan 2018
ICYMI:
Why the proposed Cape Town drought levy is unfair
(By Lee-Ann Steenkamp)
Day Zero: the dreaded day when Cape Town’s taps are expected to run dry has been moved forward to 21 April. That is, unless residents reduce usage even further and the long awaited alternative sources, like desalination plants, come on stream.
These saving grace projects are running behind schedule, although drilling on the Cape Flats Aquifer has at last started. These essential projects are expensive and someone has to foot the bill. Enter the proposal tabled by Mayor Patricia De Lille for a drought levy.
The levy is being proposed because the dramatic drop in water usage has meant a large shortfall in projected revenue. The city’s estimated water budget deficit ballooned to R1.7bn for the 2017 - 2018 financial year, based on consumption figures for October 2017.
18 Jan 2018
ICYMI:
Dam project fast-tracked to tackle Cape Town water crisis
Plans to increase water supply to the Voëlvlei Dam, scheduled to come on stream in 2024, have been fast-tracked to 2019 to help with Cape Town’s water crisis, GroundUp reported on Friday.
Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the Department of Water Affairs, told GroundUp that Minister Nomvula Mokonyane had said the project should be accelerated and that it would be underway by 2019.
The scheme involves pumping winter rainfall from the Berg River into the dam.
The National Water and Sanitation Management Plan, published in draft form by the department in December 2017, says that the Voëlvlei project is one of a handful of "projects of national importance" and is set for "urgent implementation". As the country’s second economic hub, Cape Town "is already in deficit" and the project is "already overdue", the plan notes.
