WC Drought Update: Provincial Water Restrictions to be evaluated, enforced

14 Augustus 2017

 Statement by Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell.

 WC Drought Update: Provincial Water Restrictions to be evaluated, enforced

 The Western Cape Government intends issuing directions dealing with restrictions on the use of potable water for all municipalities in the province.

The notice pertaining to this decision has already been gazetted.

 The intention is to issue the directions under section 41(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act 57 of 2002) and will apply to all municipalities in the Western Cape.

Anton Bredell, the minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape says the latest step is part of the ongoing management

of the drought that continues to afflict the Western Cape.

Bredell says all municipalities have already been directed to assess its water needs and supply and must recommend the level of water restrictions it is/intends applying.

“Based on the feedback received, the Provincial Department of Local Government will consider each assessment and if it supports the proposed level of water restrictions or not.

If the department does not agree, then the department will direct that municipality to implement the level at which water restrictions must be implemented.

This is no longer negotiable.”

 The department has a database of existing restrictions and water situation across the province. This latest step aims at ensuring every council is doing its part to address the provincial challenge.

Bredell says the information each municipality must provide includes the target consumption of potable water in megalitres per day as well as the calculated remaining weeks of bulk water supply expressed in weeks.

The levels of restrictions are numbers 1-5 as follows:

1. Moderate (10% savings)
2. High (10-20% savings)
3. Very High (20-30% savings)
4. Severe (30-40% savings)
5. Emergency (40-50% savings)

The latest average water level for dams across the Western Cape is 29.5%. In 2016 at the corresponding period, the average level was 56.7%.

“The drought continues to be unrelenting despite some good rainfall in some regions across the province. We have been combating this crisis in varying degrees across the province for more than two years.

The provincial government continues to engage all relevant stakeholders including the National Department of Water and Sanitation where the constitutional responsibility for water resides.”

Levels of major dams in the province remain very low. Theewaterskloof is currently at 23.8% (2016: 48%); Voëlvlei Dam is at 22.8% (2016: 56%) and Clanwilliam Dam 29.8% (2016: 99%).

The latest dam level data per the National Department of Water and Sanitation:

 ENDS.