Army to help with water on Day Zero

THE ARMY will be called in to help dispense water and emergency purification services as the province prepares for Day Zero, when it will run out of drinkable water, likely to be in December.

According to the Western Cape disaster management, tankers will provide water to areas such as the city, Beaufort West, Kannaland, Knysna and Bitou should these municipalities run out. These are also high-risk municipalities where dam levels are low.

Provincial officials said the Springfontein and the Gamka dams are empty. The Akkerkloof Dam in Knysna is 30% full with only 30 days of water left. The Keurbooms River, which provides water to Bitou, is also running dry.

The Western Cape government held a press conference on the crisis yesterday.

The province’s head of disaster management, Colin Deiner, said there was a possibility that the above-mentioned municipalities could run out of water by December.

“We will then need to get the water to people with water tankers. We have spoken to the SANDF about support, as well as about emergency purification services.

Premier Helen Zille said that disaster management services were working hard on priority projects worth R295 million, which includes R74 866 263 which was made available by the National Disaster Management Centre.

Meanwhile, the National Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, said that critical water use license applications submitted by the City of Cape Town are being assessed and given priority as a further step in ensuring water security.

“The province has been affected by extreme drought resulting in several municipalities being declared disaster areas.”

Mokonyane said a provincial drought disaster declaration was made in May in terms of the Disaster Management Act.

She further said that the department of water and sanitation is currently assessing 12 water use license applications for abstraction of water by the City of Cape Town. Of the 12, three are for domestic and industrial use and the remaining nine for the construction of roads and houses in wetland areas within the city.

Nomvula has communicated to Zille that three licenses for domestic and industrial purposes should be finalised by the end of this month. These are for the Berg Water Projects, the Theewaterskloof Dam and future abstractions from springs. The remaining licenses are being assessed.