New concerns have arisen over whether the City of Cape Town
\nwill weather the coming dry season with adequate water supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Civic action group Dear Cape Town, last week expressed their
\nconcern over the sudden drop of water augmentation levels as indicated on the
\nweekly water report published by the City every Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to this water report it is evident that water
\naugmentation levels dropped from almost 50Ml per day to a very low 25Ml per
\nday, said Sandra Dickson from Dear Cape Town, speaking to TygerBurger at her
\noffice in Brackenfell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dickson and her collueges have been keeping a very close eye
\non the weekly water reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlong with this almost non-existent water augmentation, the
\ncurrent situation of the large water draw down by agriculture and our dam
\nlevels dropping by 1% per week in our six major dams during the past three
\nweeks, can land us back to where we were a year ago,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is clear by doing some calculations that agriculture has
\nbeen taking up their water quotas since 25 October 2018 and that water draw
\ndown from the six major dams more than doubled as a result. Some people in the
\nagriculture sector are seriously lobbying to have their water supply restored
\nentirely,\u201d she says adding that if this is the case, it is crucial to know what
\nis the City is doing to protect the public\u2019s water supply in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis issue concerns every person that lives in the City of
\nCape Town and in the quest for transparency the City has to provide logical
\nanswers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having been made aware of the little activity at Monwabisi
\nand Strandfontein desalination plants, TygerBurger three weeks ago asked the
\nCity whether these plants were shut and requested a media tour to the plants.
\nWe also asked why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This request was immediately refused, with the explanation
\nthat because the operations itself are not owned by the City, the owners of the
\nplants do not always have the capacity to host site visits as the sites are
\nsubject to health and safety legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTherefore, we go according to what the owners of the plants
\nare able to do at a given time. As you know, you are very welcome to go to the
\n(public parking) adjacent to the sites (from where it is visible),\u201d the City\u2019s
\nmedia offices advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And on Monday executive Mayor Ian Neilson stated that the
\nwater augmentation levels declined from 50Ml to 25Ml, due to high levels of
\nturbidity at sea (murkiness).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said neither of the plants were shut down and are both
\nstill operational, but that full production was hindered from 5 November and
\nonwards due to the turbidity levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, doubt was created when Dickson received a different
\nanswer from Michael John Webster the City\u2019s director of Water and Sanitation, on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stated: \u201cThe temporary desalination plants at
\nStrandfontein and Monwabisi were not operational from 1 November to 8 November
\ndue to very high turbidity levels in the sea. This would have caused problems
\nin the treatment process and hence the plants were shutdown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDue to the disparity in these statements and the confusion
\nit creates, we would like to see record of how often plants are being shut down
\nfor this reason and how this affects the operation,\u201d Dickson responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDesalination seems not to be reliable \u2013 what if a huge
\nplant producing say 50% of our water has to be shut down for an entire week? My
\nconclusion is that the City are charging us these high tariffs and we are
\ngetting literally nothing in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neilson said a new draft Water Strategy will be presented to
\nmembers of the public in the new year for full public oversight and input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Dickson remains inconvinced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is good that public participaion is being done, but this
\nonly after almost two years and billions or Rand already spent on water
\naugmentation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is your opinion on this article? Let us know at
\nbriewe@tygerburger.co.za.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New concerns have arisen over whether the City of Cape Town will weather the coming dry season with adequate water supplies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"686727cb-d51e-4ff4-ab39-814408bdb61a","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"Desiree Rorke @dezzierorke","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-56520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n