The City of Cape Town on Monday activated its Disaster Operations Centre (DOC) to execute its Water Disaster Plan, which will take effect in the event of Day Zero.
Shutting down the system
“When our dam levels reach 13.5%, we will begin to shut down our reticulation system, except to key commercial areas and institutions such as hospitals. Once this happens, residents will be able to access water from collection points across the City,” the municipality explained. “It will be the task of the DOC to manage the water collection points. A great deal of preparation is being done to ensure that this happens as efficiently as possible,” it added. The City’s Disaster Risk Management Department has been consulting with the international community since early last year on how best to distribute water in a time of crisis.Day Zero protocol
The City explained that each resident will be allocated 25 litres of water a day. “There will be separate sections for pedestrian and vehicle access, as well as access for those collecting on behalf of vulnerable groups.”Water tankers will be used to deliver water to vulnerable groups such as old age homes and care facilities. “We are also engaging retailers and the bottled water association to ramp up their distribution networks to increase bottled water supply, so that those who do not want to use the water collection points can purchase water.”
The City noted that the collection points were being designed to ensure that they can be managed in the most efficient way possible. “Many people have been concerned about how the amount of water people collect will be monitored. “We want to stress that no one will be turned away from the Water Collection Points. All persons living in Cape Town will be entitled to collect water at these points. No one will be required to provide any identification to collect their daily allocation of water,” the City said.
