NEWS RELEASE                                                                                              4 June 2002

The City of Cape Town’s efforts to conserve water have received a huge boost thanks to an innovative water savings project in Khayelitsha.

Councillor David Erleigh, the City’s Executive Committee member responsible for Trading Services, says the Khayelitsha Pressure Management Project is already saving the City R18 million of water a year.

By reducing the pressure, the City is eliminating leaks in plumbing fittings and reducing wear and tear.

"Water is a precious resource in the Western Cape, and this project has brought great benefits to both the City and the people of Khayelitsha," he said. "This is because the City is saving water while the Khayelitsha community are no longer being billed for water they are not consuming," he said.

At a site presentation on the Project, held at the Oliver Tambo Centre, Councillor Erleigh praised the residents of Khayelitsha for their wholehearted co-operation.

This is a good example of how partnerships of this type can work for the benefit of everyone," he said.

By reducing the water pressure – especially at night – the City is saving about 6,4 million cubic metres of water a year, which represents a financial saving of R18 million.

It is estimated that, before implementation of the project, almost 75% of the water supplied to Khayelitsha was being lost through leaks in the system.

International experts, including Mr Allan Mayne from Queensland in Australia, were present at the site presentation.

Councillor Erleigh said the Khayelitsha Pressure Management Project was one of the most important water conservation projects to have taken place in South Africa, and was also a significant project worldwide.

"If we can achieve these water savings in Khayelitsha alone, the mind boggles at what we might achieve if the project is extended to other parts of the Cape Flats that also have high wastage of water," he said.

Khayelitsha is home to a population of 500 000 people and is 24 square kilometres in extent. There are 43 000 sites with both internal water supply and waterborne sewerage systems. A further 27 000 shacks are supplied with water through standpipes. The area is supplied with water from the Blackheath Reservoir.

___________________________________________________________________