Capetown is facing the worst drought in 100 years according to Mayor Patricia de Lille. It’s ironic that the city is surrounded by water, yet this water is not being put to use.
The city relies on surface water sources which have severely depleted and Day Zero is forecast to be April 21. Alternative sources such as boreholes. groundwater and desalination plants are all “in the works” but nothing has been completed. The city recently levied a drought charge on residents and it caused an uproar. The drought charge is on buildings (commercial and private) above R400,000. The money goes towards essential water projects to help the city get through the drought and will be implemented for the next three years starting 1st February, 2018.
Due to the current drought, Capetonians have restricted their water use to help save water. However, the result of that is that the City is not receiving the necessary income we need to fund our water augmentation schemes and maintain adequate service delivery. So we are introducing a drought charge.
Residents have to use as little water as possible. Take short showers, flush the loo once a day and forget watering their lawns. Tourists are not left out of the save water campaign. We found this list of water saving tips for tourists on Capetown.Travel
10 TIPS TO SAVE LIKE A LOCAL
- Choose to stay in accommodation that has water-saving measures in place. Ask about this when you book.
- Re-use your towels instead of asking for a new one daily.
- Try to flush the toilet as little as possible. Each flush uses between 6 and 14 litres, depending on the kind of toilet.
- Use a cup to rinse your mouth when you brush your teeth rather than letting the taps run.
- Limit your showers to 2 minutes, and avoid bathing. Download these 2 Minute Shower Songs by local bands to make keeping track of shower time fun!
- Report leaking taps and toilets as soon as you notice them.
- Avoid washing clothes until you have a full load’s worth of laundry.
- Take a dip in the ocean instead of swimming pools, and maybe even spare yourself a shower.
- If possible, use a dishwasher to clean dishes. just make sure you only run it when it is full.
- Use this nifty calculator to make sure you’re helping to save water.
We #lovecapetown and hope they get through this drought sooner than later. Alternative water resources need to be put in place as soon as possible. It’s the third consecutive year the city is facing a drought.
WEB LINKS ON THE CAPETOWN DROUGHT
Blame game wont solve Capetown’s water crisis. – Business live South Africa
7 things you need to know about #dayzero – IOL News
About the drought charge – The city of Capetown
Capetown set to run out of water in 100 days – Futurism
Drought hits Capetown at point of no return – Reuters
