30/01/2018
CAPE TOWN WATER CRISIS UPDATE:
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New Level 6B Restrictions
As the drought ensues, Cape Town is further tightening restrictions on water consumption from level 6, to 6B. Below are the additional restrictions in place from 1 February 2018:
- Daily limit of 50L or less per person whether at home, school or elsewhere, down from 84L in level 6 restriction.
- Irrigation limited to one hour per day either on Tuesday or Saturday before 09:00 or after 18:00.
- Borehole and well point water use must be metred and all users are required to keep records to be available for inspection
- One must have permission from the national Department of Water and Sanitation to buy or sell borehole/well point water.
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Activation of the Disaster Operations Centre (DOC)
Yesterday, the City of Cape Town activated the DOC to execute the City’s Water Disaster Plan to come into fruition in the (likely) event of Day Zero, when dams reach a collective level of 13.5% (they are currently at 26.3%). The following actions will take place:
- Shutting down of the reticulation system excluding only key commercial areas and institutions such as hospitals
- Residents to collect water from collection points across the city, of 25L per person, per day, managed by the DOC
- Water tanks will be used to deliver water to vulnerable groups
- Increase in supply of bottled water by retailers, so that water may be purchased
The City of Cape Town claim that they are trouble-shooting each collection point, and making considerations based on the local context of each site.
In this state of emergency questions have been raised as to how volumes of water collection will be monitored, who can act as representatives for groups of people, and how transport to these points will work. Moreover, security poses a huge concern.
As to how this will work, we cannot be sure. The City’s Disaster Risk Management Department claim that consultations have taken place with the international community since early last year on how best to distribute water in a time of crisis.
We look to the example of Australia to shed light on overcoming drought conditions from both a government and individual perspective: Can behavioural and technological change bridge the gap? Read more in our next blog post or newsletter!
