CITY OF CAPE TOWN

2 JULY 2018

MEDIA RELEASE

Record water-savings helping to buffer Cape Town for summer ahead

Summary
• Average water consumption for the past week has reached a record low of 481 million litres per day
• Dam levels have again improved significantly by 5,6% to 48,3% of storage capacity largely due to heavy rains
• Cape Town must continue to build a water buffer for the summer ahead and to help our dams recover from the extreme drought
• Any decision by the City of Cape Town to lower current water restrictions and thus the tariffs associated with them is dependent on National Government relaxing the restriction on water releases from the dams. The City believes that current conditions warrant a relaxation of restrictions
• New water and sanitation tariffs have kicked in and the City reminds all water users that you pay less if you use less

The City of Cape Town thanks all of its water ambassadors for continuing to save water despite the heavy rainfall of the past week and the announcement that Day Zero will not happen this year or the next.

‘Every bit of water that we save now will become a buffer against the heat and wind of the summer months ahead. The less we use, the better chance our dams have of recovering from the severe drought.

‘We believe that the main reason for the improved collective water usage figure is weather-related. Many people may have decided to delay doing their laundry and other water-intensive chores over the weekend because of the heavy rains. We are also in the middle of our winter, which traditionally is associated with the lowest usage. However, there are also many water users who continue to save water and to think about what they are doing with their drinking water.

‘We must ensure that we stay on the water-saving path,’ said the City’s Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson.

While the City hopes to reduce the current restrictions in the near future, and the tariffs associated with them, that decision is dependent on National Government relaxing restrictions on water releases from the water supply system. If the National Department of Water and Sanitation agrees to relax restrictions, we expect to be in a position to proceed with a stepped reduction of water restrictions and the associated tariffs.

Please visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater for all water-related information.

End

Note to broadcasters: audio clips are available for download
For English: https://soundcloud.com/ct-media/damlevels2julyianneilson

Issued by: Media Office, City of Cape Town

Media enquiries: Alderman Ian Neilson, Executive Deputy Mayor, City of Cape Town, Tel: 021 400 1306 or Cell: 083 306 6730, Email ian.neilson@capetown.gov.za (please always media@capetown.gov.za)
Disclaimer: This e-mail (including attachments) is subject to the disclaimer published at: http://www.capetown.gov.za/general/email-disclaimer Please read the disclaimer before opening any attachment or taking any other action in terms of this e-mail. If you cannot access the disclaimer, kindly send an email to disclaimer@capetown.gov.za and a copy will be provided to you. By replying to this e-mail or opening any attachment you agree to be bound by the provisions of the disclaimer.

In the spirit of working together and to ameliorate any misunderstandings that may occur, KCW and KERA reached out to Frogfoot Fibre to chat about the way forward during the next 45-60 days that they and their subcontractors will be working in Kirstenhof and surrounds.

Please note that this is purely a voluntary and proactive approach and neither KCW or KERA hold any brief for Frogfoot Fibre. We are not responsible for reinstatement delays and/or damage that may be incurred. They have a fully operational complaints and queries department for your concerns in this regard.

However we have been assured by them that the following can be expected:

*USUALLY there will be two teams of 45 people on site each day.
*There is no reason for any trencher to be walking to work through the suburb as transport is provided. However once the teams are despatched in the morning they will walk from the base at Apollo Road Park to the street that is marked for trenching on that day – with their tools.
*ALL workers will always have branded bibs and identity badges with their own personnel reference number.
*We can expect them to be working between 06h00 and 18h00 during weekdays and possibly on Saturdays until 13h00.
*All labourers are provided with fresh water each day.
*There are sufficient portable toilets provided for both teams of 45 to utilise.
*Littering across our wetlands and roads is not acceptable and they have been sensitised to this.
*No employee of Frogfoot (or their contractors) will ever ask for access to your property. Please advise any staff and family that may need to be reminded of this.

Please ensure that all trenchers and project/site managers are treated with respect and politeness. They have a job to do and strict time limits in which to complete it.

Frogfoot email is ftth@frogfoot.com
Frogfoot Office number is 0214487225
Frogfoot Communications - Kayleigh 0845051848

CITY OF CAPE TOWN
16 APRIL 2018
STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S EXECUTIVE DEPUTY MAYOR, ALDERMAN IAN NEILSON

Water usage spikes by 5% to 542 million litres per day
As at today, Monday 16 April 2018, our collective consumption over the past week was 542 million litres of water per day. This is up from an average of 516 million litres last week. Dam levels have declined a further 0,5% to 20,9% . Read more below:

The fall in dam levels can be attributed to environmental influences such as higher temperature and evaporation, as well as an increase in usage by customers. Thus far April has been relatively warm, mimicking the climate patterns of March. High temperatures were experienced last week, as well as high winds in the catchment areas.

Although the majority of our water users are doing their best to lower usage to 50 litres per day, there may be some whose usage still fluctuate according to the weather.

We need to reduce our total consumption to 450 million litres per day to keep within the allocation provided to the City by the National Department of Water and Sanitation. This requires individuals to use no more than 50 litres per person per day. We must achieve this target to stretch the available water supplies as far as possible into the winter months and through the remainder of the year.

We have made great progress so far, but we are not yet out of the woods. We must continue to keep our usage as low as possible.

Although the winter months will likely bring more rain, we cannot estimate how much rain we will have, or count on it having a significant impact on our dam levels. The City will therefore continue its drought interventions, including pressure management, accelerated leak repair, Level 6b restrictions and tariffs to deter high water usage, as long as needed to see us through the drought.

We encourage all of our water users who are living the #50LitreLife to show their commitment to saving our precious water by getting a free profile picture at http://bit.ly/2IzvM2t

Please visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater for all water-related information.

End

Note to broadcasters: audio clips are available for download

For English: https://soundcloud.com/ct-media/dashboard-16-april-ian-neilsonenglish

For Afrikaans: https://soundcloud.com/ct-media/dashboard-16-april-ian-neilsonafrikaans

Issued by: Media Office, City of Cape Town

Media enquiries: Alderman Ian Neilson, Executive Deputy Mayor, City of Cape
Town, Tel: 021 400 1306 or Cell: 083 306 6730, Email:
ian.neilson@capetown.gov.za (please always cc media@capetown.gov.za).