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Despite some welcome rain in parts of the province recently, Anton Bredell, Western Cape minister of local government, environmental affairs and development planning called on all Western Cape municipalities to evaluate their water security and consider water restrictions.
Minster Bredell made this call after the Department of Water and Sanitation released its latest weekly report recently, indicating an average level of 49,7% for Western Cape dams and 56,4% for the dams providing water to Cape Town. These levels are significantly lower than the same time last year, when the province saw a combined level of 65%, and Cape Town a combined level of 80,8%
Read more about global water security here.
“The Department of Local Government will be interacting with each municipality in the province to assess and evaluate their water security situation. Where necessary, we will recommend that water restrictions are implemented sooner, while there are still options available.”
According to minister Bredell, municipalities should ensure their water infrastructure is well maintained to minimise leaks and water management systems should be optimised so that all water can be accounted for.
Catchments should be kept free of alien plants, as this can also save considerable volumes of water. On the other hand, residents play a huge role in saving water. “Small individual actions, such as reusing water, can make a huge collective difference. We should always treat water as a scarce and valuable resource, irrespective of our dam levels,” minister Bredell concluded. – Press release, Western Cape Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
Water infrastructure to be expanded in Western Cape
Western Cape dam levels are currently standing at a combined level of 74,3%, compared to 82% for the same time last year. The dams supplying water to the City of Cape Town is currently 86% full, compared to 100% last year. This is according to the latest data released by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
