Not paying levies might leave us in the lurch
OUR CITY dam levels have fallen by a percentage point over the past week, to stand at 32%. The Western Cape is in the throes of the worst drought in 100 years. We are truly in a bind.
Scientific opinion over the past decade has held that the western part of South Africa would become progressively drier over the coming century.
There were those who actually scorned the science informing such a prediction. Others took an optimistic view that nothing untoward was going to happen and carried on using water as freely as before.
When De Lille and her city administration were confronted with the stark reality that water could run out altogether, panic set in. Residents were asked to use water sparingly.
The appeal and the threats worked with the majority of the population. Thousands of others, however, refused to heed the call to cut back on their water use. Devices had to be fitted to allow them to receive no more than their daily regulated apportionment.
Ten years ago, I anticipated what was coming. I routed all the rain water falling on my roof, first into a storage tank and then into the garden to keep the water table high. I also put in a water point. I was certain that climate change was going to wreak havoc and it would be wise and necessary to prepare for what was coming.
It’s a pity that the city administration ignored the science and was therefore wholly unprepared for the crisis which eventuated. Until a few months ago, the situation was being officially downplayed.
The drastic decline in water use, thanks to the co-operation of the majority of citizens, has had an unintended consequence: revenue from water sales has fallen substantially.
This has happened at a time when additional resources are needed to create new infrastructure to supplement water supply through one of many technological and expensive means. The administration is in a classic catch-22 situation.
Beyond what the national government and provincial governments will have to do and fund, the city has also to undertake major expenditure in procuring more water.
At present, cuts in approved budgets have had to be made across all departments to enable emergency work to be undertaken. This is not sustainable.
All things considered, a levy will have to be imposed, much to the chagrin of all citizens, councillors included. I will have to press the “yes” button when the matter comes up for decision, after public consultation, as not to approve the levy will plunge us into an even greater calamity. FAROUK CASSIM (COPE) Century View