Improved maintenance and upgrades has helped the City of Cape Town keep its water demand below the peak level recorded in 2001.

Cape Town mayoral committee member for utility services, Ernest Sonnenberg, announced that through careful management, ingenuity and consumer education, the city has managed to stabilise the demand on the Western Cape Water Supply System. Cape Town’s annual water demand is currently growing at 2.3% as opposed to the near 4% recorded just prior to 2001. This is despite a more than 30% population growth since the 2001 census.

The Department of Water Affairs has in the pastwarned that Cape Town’s available water will be fully utilised by 2019 because of the growth in the population and economy. The city has considered seawater desalination to improve water supply, and conducted a feasibility study last year.

Sonnenberg pointed out several interventions that have aided in the city’s achievement. Among them is a targeted retrofitting programme which involved retrofitting and leak fixing in SamoraMachel, Ravensmead and Fisantekraal, resulting in an annual saving per area of between R1.2 and R1.7 million. In addition there was extensive implementation of water pressure management in areas including Retreat, Goodwood and Crossroads which has resulted in annual savings of approximately 3.37 million m3 of water, amounting to approximately R31 million per annum.

Mr Sonnenberg said improved maintenance and upgrades to the reticulation network has resulted in a decrease in the incidences of burst water pipelines. This has helped the city bring down its overall water losses to 14.5% in 2012/13.

 

(Source: BusinessDay Live)