Any plans for additional water sources?
Henk Carpentier Alting:
It seems to me that the water supply shortages and the measures taken to solve the situation in Cape Town are a classic example of "too little too late" and I wonder what lessons we in George can learn from it.
When construction of the heightened George Dam wall will be finalised next year, it will have taken more than
10 years for this project from inception to finalisation and it will reportedly add about 11% to the dam's capacity. This does not sound much to me and it would be interesting to know when the enlarged capacity will no longer be enough to cope with the increasing population.
It will also be interesting to hear from the municipality what plans they have for additional water sources, such as for instance a desalinisation plant? It seems we are in for more years of drought and we can only hope it will not take a further 10 years for new plans to be realised.
Coming back to the situation in Cape Town, it was reported that, finally, water flow restriction devices will be installed at the premises of high users, as talking to them has not succeeded in these people reducing their usage. I hope it will not take that long for our municipality to take corrective action?
I decided to write this letter after I managed to reduce my water consumption to about 9 000 litres a month, but as I need more than that to keep my garden alive, I will install a rain water tank, which is an expensive exercise.
George Municipal Manager Trevor Botha replies:
The George Municipality commends Mr Alting for his efforts to reduce his water consumption and hopes that many others will follow his example. While the municipality has several water saving measures in place and continues to research and apply as many sustainable options as possible, the reality of drought and water restrictions is that people in general do not grasp the true value of potable (drinkable) water and therefore do not use it as sparingly as is truly required in a country such as ours. South Africans have to accept that, irrespective of how much it rains and whether our dams are full or not, people's mindsets surrounding water use must change to ensure long-term water security for everyone.
That being said, the George Municipality Drought Management Plan incorporates measures such as financial implications and fines, water flow restriction devices (the first of which will be installed in this financial year) and even jail time for repeat offenders, to enforce restricted water use as much as possible. The plan automatically kicks in when the Garden Route Dam drops to below 60% (which in this case was on
1 June 2017) and incorporates increasingly strict and elaborate measures as the situation deteriorates. Hence, when the Garden Route Dam level dropped to below 45%, even tighter restrictions and emergency tariffs came into effect, which will get tighter and more extreme should the dam level continue to drop. The growing population is being considered in water security planning in the George Municipality Water Services Development Plan and extends beyond the raising of the dam wall to include other water sources - some of which are already in use, such as boreholes and wastewater treatment. Desalination was investigated during the previous drought in 2008 but was not found suitable for George, due to its distance from the sea as well as long-term environmental concerns which had at the time not been addressed. However, these and other viable solutions, suggestions and options are continually evaluated to increase water security. The municipality appeals to all residents to treat the potable water in their taps with the respect it deserves.
If it is no longer there, we will all regret it. While it would be more convenient to keep our gardens green and our pools filled with municipal water, the long-term reality is alternative water sources such as rainwater tanks. While we recognise the initial financial outset may be costly, we believe the longterm investment will produce its own rewards.