Day Zero,
the day we may have to queue for water, has been pushed back to Monday 4 June.
Two weeks
ago the City of Cape Town announced that the date had moved to Friday 11 May,
while the pervious date prediction was Monday 16 April.
This is due
to the continued decline in agricultural usage, and also as a result of Capetonians
reducing their water usage in cooperation with the City of Cape Town’s efforts
to bring down consumption.
In a
statement, the City says consumption has been lowered to 526 million litres per
day.
“This is
the first time that the weekly average usage has remained under 550 million
litres due to the City’s pressure management interventions and the efforts by
our residents to use as little water as possible.”
Dam levels
are at only 24.9% compared to 36.1% last year.
“It is
absolutely clear that when we need to pull together in this city, we can do so.
If we continue to work as a team to lower our consumption to 450 million litres
per day as required, we will become known as one of the most resilient cities
in the world. We are fast becoming a leading example of a large city that is
fundamentally changing its relationship with water,” the statement reads.
The City
has thanked the farming sector, especially associations such as the Groenland
Water Users’ Association, for their water transfer to the Steenbras Dam, and
the National Department of Water and Sanitation for facilitating this supply
injection.
“In
accepting this transfer, we acknowledge the sacrifices that many in the farming
sector have made during this extreme drought.”
