City’s water savings hailed as ‘global first’

CAPE Town is setting a global standard for reducing water consumption.

That’s according to research conducted by Wesgro, which indicates that according to new data the city council is now using 515 million litres of water per day.

In February 2015, the city council was using 1.2 billion litres of water a day. In only three years, the city council has therefore reduced its consumption by more than half. Average residential consumption is approximately 87 litres per person per day, down from 209 litres in February 2015; and total consumption including commercial, industrial, and government is now at approximately 124 litres per person per day, down from 298 litres in February 2015. This is a reduction of almost 60%.

Wesgro chief executive, Tim Harris says the data tells a good story about how Cape Town is setting international best practice in reducing water consumption and becoming more water-resilient.

“The very severe drought in the Cape has legitimately been a cause of concern both at home and abroad. But there is another, even more compelling story… about Cape Town’s remarkable reduction in water consumption, which is likely unmatched by any other city in the world.

“This reduction is world-class in its own right, and is now setting the benchmark for countries around the world…

“A resilient destination is one that is more appealing for tourists, and for businesses looking to invest.

“Wesgro will be sharing this positive story on all our missions, because our people’s character during difficult times is perhaps one of best selling points.”

MEC of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde said: “I believe in years to come, people will look at the example Cape Town has set in reducing our usage and use the city as an example.”

THIS REDUCTION IS WORLD-CLASS IN ITS OWN RIGHT, AND IS NOW SETTING THE BENCHMARK FOR COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD