It’s raining but don’t waste water, warns City of Cape Town
The City reminded residents that water was permitted for essential use only.
As the stormy conditions continue to rage in Cape Town, the City is urging residents to remember to save water.
In a media statement issued by the City of Cape Town media office on Wednesday, the City reminded residents that water was permitted for essential use only.
“The much-anticipated cold front which has made landfall is not a quick ticket out of the drought situation,” the City warned.
“It will take at least three consecutive winters of above-average rainfall to make a real difference.”
The City therefore reminded all water users to continue to use less than 100 litres per person in total every day.
#ThinkWaterCT and use suitable containers to capture the rainwater, perfect for flushing and non-drinking purposes! https://t.co/uCH31xs7Bc pic.twitter.com/1Ap8gcwSDG
— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) June 7, 2017
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg was quoted as saying that residents were urged to capture rainwater which could be re-used. Limberg used the example of flushing a toilet using rainwater.
“It must be noted that, due to climatic unpredictability, no one is able to definitely predict when our next big rainfall will occur. We must therefore continue to save water now and we cannot afford to have our water use influenced by the weather – using less than 100 litres per person per day whether at home, work, school or elsewhere remains the requirement,” said Limberg.
The statement further read, “The City has made provision to capture some of the excessive inflows at wastewater treatment works by diverting it to maturation or retention ponds where available.
“There are critical points in the sewer reticulation system where stormwater is diverted to the sewer system. This water is treated to make more treated effluent available. Investigation is under way to see how to capture urban stormwater at a greater scale and then store it for later treatment and use.”
Jan Cronje – Sea Point Pavillion parking lot at 12.30. pic.twitter.com/PCbOil1HmD
— Storm Report SA (@StormReportSA1) June 7, 2017
On Wednesday, TimesLIVE reported that as the storm batters the Cape, political leaders would on Thursday debate the motion put forward by the DA’s Beverley Schäfer of the “ANC’s impact on Western Cape drought” after she allegedly blamed the ANC for failing to ensure the security of water.
Jan Cronje – Rough sees and high winds at the Promenade in Cape Town. pic.twitter.com/JKrXzrKLWG
— Storm Report SA (@StormReportSA1) June 7, 2017
– Caxton News Service
