Lack of water will bring City to its knees

IT IS HARD to believe a Council, which should comprise intelligent and responsible individuals, has allowed the citizens, commerce and industry of Cape Town to be brought to the situation where we are facing the draconian restrictions spelt out in a recent pamphlet from the City’s Safety and Security Branch.

When, not if, we reach Phase 2 Disaster Restrictions – according to this month’s publication, then only will the City start injecting treated effluent water, groundwater, seawater and non-drinking water into the sewerage system to ensure the infrastructure is not damaged.

It is beyond belief our mayor can proudly declare, as reported in the Cape Times last week, that Cape Town is now the events centre of South Africa and she provided a list of events booked to take place here in the coming months – all of which, she claimed, will boost the local economy. She also stated at one stage that the City could not have anticipated the severe drought. Really?

When we reach Phase 2, it is highly unlikely that visitor accommodation will be functional and many commercial and manufacturing activities will close if adequate water for general purposes is not readily available. Cape Town’s economy will not be boosted. Rather, it will be brought to its knees.

Several years ago, Sedgefield, a small coastal town in the Southern Cape, experienced a severe drought and the main river supplying water to the town dried up. Within a few months water had been diverted from another river to feed the mains supply, a desalination plant was built and brought into operation, nine boreholes were drilled and the water connected to the mains.

While these initiatives were being brought to fruition, water was trucked in from George for a brief period. With limited funds, intelligence and foresight, the responsible authorities managed to keep everything functioning without resorting to disaster restrictions. It is outrageous that Cape Town authorities are apparently unable to achieve a similar outcome.

It would be helpful if the Cape Times journalists could investigate what the City is doing about increasing the water supply and what their target dates are for doing so. There have been a few statements, such as “there are 20 tenders out” and the recent letter stating the original tenders were irrational and new ones had to be issued, but facts are few, far between and seemingly inaccessible.

Clarity would be most welcome. The City is apparently unable or unwilling to provide it.