Issued by Perfect Word Consulting (Pty) Ltd.
The redemption of Cape Town dam water levels has been met with marked relief. Day Zero was effectively kept at bay. Reportedly, dam levels in the Western Cape have continued to rise. According to Capetownetc.com, these levels have now pushed past the 74% mark. This is a drastic improvement on the 37.5% that was reported at the same time last year. The Western Cape also has a strong forecast of good rainfall for the coming weeks.
As a result of this rise in dam levels, the Level 6B water restrictions enforced during the Cape Town Water Crisis were relaxed to a Level 5, as of October 1st. This will see Cape Town residents’ water consumption usage allowance increasing from 50 litres per person per day, to 70 litres per person per day.
According to News 24 the instatement of Level 5 water restrictions means that Cape Town’s overall water usage target will be 500 million litres of water per day as compared to the previous 450 million litre target that was instituted with Level 6.
With regards to the possibility of Cape Town returning to a Level 6, Mayor of Cape Town, Ian Nelson, stated; “We are confident that we will not be moving to Level 6 over the summer months. It must be understood that Level 6 entails an extreme scenario. It was an extreme level for an extreme situation.”
John J Coetzee, CEO of Green Worx Cleaning Solutions confirms that; “The relaxation of the Western Cape water crisis should not be taken lightly. Although a great success, parts of South Africa (and other regions worldwide) are still at great risk of running out of water. Parts of the Eastern Cape are currently facing a similar crisis to what Cape Town has just been through. We need to continue to be aware of how we use water, making sure to utilise water saving strategies and products, regardless of the dam levels. If recent events have shown us anything, it is that water is not something that should be taken for granted.”
According to Jayed-Leigh Paulse’s report on SABC News, Day Zero is rapidly approaching for the residents of some parts of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape. Reportedly, with dam levels below 30%, these areas only have an estimated two months’ supply of water left.
The Department of Water and Sanitation is expected to implement a water restriction of 80% in the Eastern Cape. According to the Department, the towns currently afflicted with drought are Kouga (according to News24 the Kouga Dam’s water level has dropped to a dismal 6.8%), Hankey, Patensie, Jeffreys Bay, Oyster Bay and Humansdorp.
Residents of the affected towns are encouraged to make use of water saving strategies. “The residents of the Eastern Cape need to implement the same tactics employed by those of Cape Town, such as not flushing unless necessary, using waterless cleaning products, taking shorter showers, catching water from the shower to be used for the toilet, and so on. Products such as Albion Brands’ Albex™ Noflush spray and Green Worx Cleaning Solutions’ Biotech™ Bathroom Cleaner can be sprayed into the toilet to ensure people can safely ‘let it mellow when it’s yellow’,” concludes Coetzee.
“The world as a whole needs to start moving towards treating water as a precious commodity. We should constantly be saving water, not just when we are trying to save ourselves from a crisis.”