NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                   04 May 2001

WARNING SIGNALS FLASH AS DAM LEVELS DROP

Dam levels in the Western Cape are continuing to drop rapidly, sounding a warning that tougher water restrictions for Capetonians could be on the way.

Theewaterskloof Dam near Villiersdorp - by far the largest water supplier to the City of Cape Town - is at its lowest level in recent year, at 44,8 per cent of capacity, some 20 per cent down on its level at the same time last year. In April 1997 Theewaterskloof was 75,8 per cent full.

This grim picture is reinforced by the fact that the five main storage dams supplying metropolitan Cape Town are down from 75,4 per cent of capacity in April 1997 to 40,1 per cent on 16 April this year.

Since the introduction of water restrictions in November, the City of Cape Town Council has met its savings target of 10 per cent for this year, but the message is clear - unless greater vigilance is paid to saving water in every possible way, Capetonians face far tougher restrictions in the near future.

“The situation is critical,” said Councillor David Erleigh, the City of Cape Town Council’s Executive Committee member responsible for Trading Services.“If we have another dry winter, as we did last year, we may have to restrict garden watering further and look at other serious measures.”

He said Cape Town faced the serious threat of water shortages in the future and had been identified as the first metropole likely to run out of this precious resource.

“I must appeal to every person in greater Cape Town to think of water as vital as the air we breath - every drop must be saved wherever possible,” said Councillor Erleigh. “For example, it is ridiculous to water the garden the day after good rains, and overfilling the bath is also irresponsible.”

He said wasting water would have serious repercussions down the line. “You can never undo the consequences of wasting water today,” he said. “If we don’t act responsibly, a chronic water shortage is the legacy we will leave our children and grandchildren.” Lets look after future generations.

The official figures for total storage in all of the five major dams tell the story: 1997: 75,4 per cent full, 1998: 58,1 per cent, 1999: 53,0 per cent, 2000: 53,3 per cent, and 2001: 40,1 per cent.