Cape Town - With the dam levels ever on the rise, further relief for water users may be on the way in December.
The City says December will signal the start of a process to gradually lower restrictions, given the good dam levels.
On Monday, reduced restrictions took effect as an interim relief for consumers because dam storage levels are at 75%.
Deputy mayor Ian Neilson said the City made a decision, supported by the agricultural sector as well as other municipalities, to reduce water restrictions and the associated tariffs.
This was done as a relief measure until the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) announced the City’s water allocation for the coming year, Neilson said.
“This announcement usually takes place in December. However, given that our situation has improved significantly, the City has decided to provide interim relief so that consumers do not continue paying the highest tariff. This reduction is the first in a gradual lowering that will continue once we know what our allocation for the coming year is,” Neilson said.
The restrictions will determine how much water the agricultural sector and consumers in municipalities can use.
“To adhere to this, the City will then implement the appropriate restrictions. Cape Town has always been on Level 1 water restrictions, even before the severe drought, and this has been part of our success as a water-wise metro. We are situated in a water-scarce area and we must ensure that we become more resilient to cater to the demands of the new normal,” Neilson said.
The City augmentation has also been adding water to the system.
According to the City's water outlook report for September, the pressure management programme saving as at September 7 was 69.5 megalitres a day.
Springs and rivers have a yield of 7.5 megalitres a day, the Atlantis aquifer has a sustained yield of between 5 and 12 megalitres a day, and temporary desalination has a maximum yield of 16 megalitres a day.
The provincial head of the DWS, Rashid Khan, said the province was not yet out of the woods, “considering that we are nearing the end of the rainy season. Once temperatures rise, our dams will experience evaporation. Some of the dams, especially in the Karoo, are still a concern. Water users should bear in mind that water restrictions in the province will continue being implemented until the dam levels reach 85%.”
The City’s mayoral committee has recommended that the council approve a multi-year project to more than double the current capacity of the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works.
It is envisaged that over the next six years this plant's current wastewater treatment capacity of 47 million litres a day will be more than doubled.