Theewaterskloof is the largest dam supplying municipal water to Cape Town. It is currently 13% full
Theewaterskloof is the largest dam supplying municipal water to Cape Town. It is currently 13% full
The Cape Town dam levels have dropped another 0.9% this week. The news comes after local authorities ramped up their water saving rhetoric, and encouraged citizens to slash their personal consumption.
As of Thursday 01 February, every Capetonian will be required to use no more than 50 litres per person, per day. Punitive measures have been drafted for water guzzlers, amid the inescapable spectre of day zero.
Cape Town dam levels: Facts and Figures
The storage levels for dams across the City of Cape Town is 26.3%. This is a drop of 0.9% from last week. At 13.5% capacity, day zero will come into force, limiting residents to 25 litres of water per day. Many will have to collect water from designated pick-up points.
The taps are scheduled to be shutdown in Cape Town on 12 April. However, with current water usage and unforgiving hot weather, that day is likely to hop forward by the week. Realistically, day zero could take place at some point in March.
How much water is Cape Town using?
Cape Town residents have managed to clampdown by 40 million litres a day. Now using 580 million litres as a city-wide average, CPT still remains 130 million litres a day off its strict target of 450 million.
However, the people of the Mother City have probably had enough of being blamed for the crisis. Poor communication between local and national governments and municipal mismanagement has lead Cape Town to this point. Yet it is the citizens who are bearing the brunt of saving each other from day zero.
So where there is progress, we choose to recognise it. A saving of 40 million litres per day over the course of a week is a step in the right direction. Now, the rest of Cape Town needs to catch up with the water warriors, whose diligent water usage has given the city a sniff of avoiding a reticulation system shutdown.
