DAY ZERO GUIDELINES

Over the next two months the City will be testing out each water collection points in the event of Day Zero arriving. Here is what we know about Day Zero: About 20 000 people will be able to collect water at each site per day. Each of us will be able to collect about 25 litres per person per day in line with the World Health Organisation recommendation. Law enforcement, police and intergovernmental resources will be deployed to ensure safety. The City will have about 200 water collection sites across the city. No one will be turned away from collection points. No one will be required to provide any identification to collect their daily allocation of water. The collection of water will be regulated only in order to prevent anyone from collecting far above their daily water allocation. Officials will be on site to monitor potential abuse, and residents are also encouraged to report any abuse. Each water collection point will have between 50 and 200 taps. Where space permits, some water collection points will be geared primarily for vehicles in order to allow for drive-through water collection. Regulation at these points will be minimal, to avoid making the process more complicated or onerous than will already be the case. People will be permitted to collect water on behalf of others, especially citizens who are unable to collect water for themselves. The City cannot provide residents with containers, as it is not feasible. The securing of the water collection points will be a joint effort by the City’s security personnel, SAPS and SANDF, augmented by neighbourhood watches and volunteers. Other distribution mechanisms are being investigated where it is not feasible for individuals to collect water themselves, such as the use of water tankers. The City will provide guidelines on maintaining hygiene practices during this crisis. The City’s health department has launched a campaign geared towards the prevention of disease during the water restrictions. The City will provide residents with guidelines on managing sanitation within households to ensure impact on the sewerage system is minimised. The operating hours will be tailored to what makes sense in terms of the times of day that are most convenient for people to collect water and also taking into account minimising queue lengths. Residents can go to any water collection point of their choice.