The City of Cape Town said on Monday disaster planning was underway to ensure measures were in place for the possibility of an extended drought.

“[We] continue planning for the implementation of contingency and emergency measures in conjunction with the National Department of Water and Sanitation,” MMC for water and waste services Xanthea Limberg said in a statement.

On March 3 Mayor Patricia de Lille declared the city a disaster area. The declaration will be valid for three months, but could be extended on a month-to-month basis by notice in the Government Gazette.

In the statement, the city said feeder dams dropped to 30% capacity, a 1.6% decrease from the previous week.

With the last 10% of dam water mostly unusable, dam levels were effectively at 20%, the city said.

Average consumption in the city was 751 million litres for the past week, a 23 million litre decrease from the previous week.

Restrictions lifted in Gauteng

There is 105 days of usable water left at current consumption levels, the city said.

The city released a list of the locations of the top 100 water consumers on March 2.

Limberg said in the statement that leaks on private properties that were the cause for unacceptably high use had been identified and fixed and that those consumers have been removed from the top 100 list.

“This is the outcome that we want: for residents to take responsibility for consumption and then to reduce it,” she said.

Meanwhile the Department of Water and Sanitation announced that water restrictions in Gauteng have been lifted following heavy rains in the area.

Gauteng feeder dams are 100% full, Rand Water said on its website.

[Source: News24]