Weekend Early

The City of Cape Town is considering additional plans to intensify level 3 water restrictions, amid a bid to declare the City an emergency disaster area.

Earlier, Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille, announced plans to write to the environmental affairs MEC to declare Cape Town an emergency disaster area.

Briefing media and other parties, De Lille said the City is in a crisis, with the average dam level now at 33%.

Dr Kevin Winter of the Future Water Institute was at the briefing.

Short and medium term plans have so far helped reduce water consumption in the city - decreasing water consumption by 27%.

Further water restrictions will likely in the near future include no irrigation and no topping up of swimming pools.

Winter says he is impressed by the comprehensive approach that the city has taken in addressing the issue.

It brought home two realities - the water crisis and the intent of the City to write to Minister Anton Bredell to declare Cape Town a disaster.

— Dr Kevin Winter, Researcher

The other wake up call was the recognition that we now need to be much more proactive in the way in which we are integrating our water sources and the different sources that we need to call on now in the near future.

— Dr Kevin Winter, Researcher at UCT's Future Water Institute

There is still no clarity whether there is funding to continue with the implementation of the Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifer scheme to between 2022 and 2026.

I would hope to see at some stage - if we are bringing it forward, what those timelines and planning is all about because it’s certainly not in any City budget that I have seen so far.

— Dr Kevin Winter, Researcher at UCT's Future Water Institute

Winter says the rainfall predictions remain uncertain, but control of water use needs to be tightened.

De Lille is hoping national government will free funds to enable the municipality to implement new water supply schemes.

Click below to listen to the full interview...