Update
WESTERN CAPE NEWS - With the average levels of water in dams across the Western Cape for the week starting 26 February at 21.3%, almost 10% down from last year (2017: 31.6%), a renewed call has been made to people in the Western Cape to decrease their water usage.
Anton Bredell, the minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, says the latest measurement is a concern.
“The good news is we are nearing our expected rainfall season in the province and we are hopeful we will be able to see the year through without any of our high-risk towns running out of drinking water. But the public must not be complacent.
"We cannot rely on rainfall. We still need to save water to keep pushing day zero out.”
Bredell is calling on the public and business sector to continue to drive water use down.
“Even if we get exceptional rains this year, we want to urge everyone to keep their water use as low as possible.
"Even if it is raining cats and dogs, we must now look towards getting through the summer of 2018/19. To achieve this, our dams and underground water sources will need to recover as much as possible.”
Areas not cut off
Bredell says that although some dams are showing levels of less than 10%, this does not mean areas around those dams will be cut off.
“Our municipalities are all part of larger water schemes that include getting water from sources such as boreholes.
"At this stage, we are confident our municipalities are still able to provide drinking water to all their communities over the short term, despite low dam levels.”
Bredell has also noted concerns about the agriculture sector, which remains severely affected by the ongoing drought.
“We are concerned about jobs and the sustainability of the industry. We are continuously engaging the sector and the national government to see how we can continue to support our farmers and farmworkers.
"To date, more than R100 million has been [provided for] drought relief for farmers.”
Read a previous article: 'Expect stricter water restrictions soon'
'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news'
