New water restriction tariffs hit Cape Town: what you need to know

[Archer]

I see whoever is in charge at a national level has everything on track to declare the drought a national disaster..... by next month :crylaugh:

 

[Archer]

This graph was apparently for 5 Feb. I note the 25.5% point on the graph is actually not at the correct spot. Latest is we're at 23.7% (http://ewn.co.za/2018/02/07/dams-that-supply-cape-town-fall-further-as-water-crisis-looms).

When I plot 7 Feb and 23.7% it looks like we are in the "failure zone" Am I reading this correctly? Looks to me like day zero is March 20.

That graph is plainly wrong. The one direct from CoCT has 25.5% in the right spot
https://resource.capetown.gov.za/do...ity research reports and review/damlevels.pdf

 

[biometrics]

That graph is plainly wrong. The one direct from CoCT has 25.5% in the right spot
https://resource.capetown.gov.za/do...ity research reports and review/damlevels.pdf

Thanks, I see. It says we're at 25.2% today. Wonder where EWN gets 23.7%?

 

[Agent_Smith]

Audio clips doing the rounds on Whatsapp of one oke suggesting everyone fill a 100l bucket every day from their taps and take it to the dams. Another guy responds saying the way to save water is to not use the cold water tap but just the hot water tap as the water comes from the geyser and not the dams.

I really hope this is someone's attempt at a troll/joke because if people truly think this way... Ai

 

[Rouxenator]

People don't even know where the dams that matter are.

 

[Gordon_R]

Thanks, I see. It says we're at 25.2% today. Wonder where EWN gets 23.7%?

Possibly the extra water from the Eikenhof dam has been accounted for by CoCT, but not EWN, who might have got their figures from DWA dam levels?

The extra 10 billion liters is small compared to the capacity of Theewaterskloof, but significant when every percent equals 10 days normal or 20 days reduced consumption levels!

People don't even know where the dams that matter are.

Edit: The troll is back!?

 

[AchmatK]

Quick question.

According to CoCT, at 10% it becomes very difficult to extract water from the dams. Theewaterskloof is currently at 12.3% based on the latest dam report.

What happens to the figures when Theewaterskloof goes below 10%? 10% of Theewaterskloof is 48 000ML

 

[Rouxenator]

What happens to the figures when Theewaterskloof goes below 10%? 10% of Theewaterskloof is 48 000ML

Steenbras? Bergrivier? Wemershoek?

As I have said many times before, Theewaterskloof might be the biggest (and shallowest) but it is not the only one.

 

[Gordon_R]

According to CoCT, at 10% it becomes very difficult to extract water from the dams. Theewaterskloof is currently at 12.3% based on the latest dam report.

What happens to the figures when Theewaterskloof goes below 10%? 10% of Theewaterskloof is 48 000ML

AFAIK the DWA is digging a trench to get some of the 10% into the outlet that supplies the tunnel that leads to CoCT. Theewaterskloof has 3 outlets, and AFAIK the one leading to the lower river is shut. Another is physically isolated from the others, due to the shape of the bottom of the servoir.

BTW, the capacity estimates become unreliable, since such low water heights are not easy to measure with any accuracy.

Approximate location of the towers, shown on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theewaterskloof_Dam#/media/File:Theewaterskloof_catchment_area.png

 

[Geoff.D]

Quick question.

According to CoCT, at 10% it becomes very difficult to extract water from the dams. Theewaterskloof is currently at 12.3% based on the latest dam report.

What happens to the figures when Theewaterskloof goes below 10%? 10% of Theewaterskloof is 48 000ML

Measures are being put in place apparently to be able to extract more water, but if not , the dam stops being counted into the available water figures?

 

[LCBXX]

Audio clips doing the rounds on Whatsapp of one oke suggesting everyone fill a 100l bucket every day from their taps and take it to the dams. Another guy responds saying the way to save water is to not use the cold water tap but just the hot water tap as the water comes from the geyser and not the dams.

I really hope this is someone's attempt at a troll/joke because if people truly think this way... Ai

What are you implying? How do you think us Gautengers got the Vaal Dam back up to 80%??

 

[daveza]

Measures are being put in place apparently to be able to extract more water, but if not , the dam stops being counted into the available water figures?

Well they said the taps would go off when the average dam level reaches 13.5 % so I presume TWK should be included in that average.

 

[Gordon_R]

Well they said the taps would go off when the average dam level reaches 13.5 % so I presume TWK should be included in that average.

AFAIK the average that the CoCT refers to is 13.5/100 * (level of dam A * capacity of dam A + level of dam B * capacity of dam B, etc).

In the weekly dashboard the current amount is 226321 Ml (as at 5 Feb 2018). See: http://resource.capetown.gov.za/doc...ity research reports and review/damlevels.pdf

When this number reaches 13.5/100 * 898221 = 121260 Ml, the taps will be turned off.

At that point some dams will have 10%, and some will have 50%. The individual levels do not matter, it is the total fraction available, relative to the storage capacity, that will be used as the target.

BTW, the target may even change, since the later that Day Zero falls in the calender, the less emergency water will be needed to get through to the period of first rains.

P.S. We need a technical term for the duration of the 'Zero Supply' phase. Any ideas?

 

[PeterBee]

P.S. We need a technical term for the duration of the 'Zero Supply' phase. Any ideas?

götterdämmerung?

 

[Gordon_R]

götterdämmerung?

Something like 'Days of Thirst'...

Edit: More prosaic: 'Days of (Water) Queues'!

 

[BTTB]

Zille chastised by SA Weather Service

Blaming the weather, or climate and the weather service, is a cop-out for policy inaction and ineptitude in the implementation of multidisciplinary research and reports that have long pointed to the water challenge in the country, the Western Cape and in Cape Town.

 

[Zoomzoom]

The people who go off the grid are the people who are tired of the governments continued incompetence - and who no longer want to pay, and be penalized for the pleasure.

I mean look at everything we pay for due to government incompetence, private schooling, private health care, private security, why not private water and private electricity supplies.

because it is too expensive for anyone but the rich and we live in a world where, despite what the rich may wish to sweep under the carpet and pretend doesn't exist, there are poor people who need social assistance. The rates and taxes the rich pay subsidise the poor. If they decide they are going to use their wealth to stop paying, then other means need to be found to get the money from them in other ways. Unfortunately other forms of wealth taxation don't happen, instead the poor end up bearing the burden they can't afford. It makes the poor poorer, the municipality and government not only have less income but also end up with more people claiming indigent benefits. It is a very poor decision on the part of the rich to opt out of the system.

 

[Gordon_R]

Zille chastised by SA Weather Service

29 January is old news. Check your calendar...

 

[theratman]

Zille chastised by SA Weather Service

She's a dinosaur and needs to join De Lille under the bus, which is where I hope Maimane throws her. I get the feeling that Zille is the SA equivalent of Trump.

 

[Ivork]

The story about fitting meters to domestic boreholes and, I assume, wellpoints:

There is no limit (or charge currently) for the amount of water you draw – so the point is?

Does the owner of the wellpoint have to pay for this meter or will the municipality pay?
Where exactly do you buy such a said meter if the onus is on me?
What is stopping anyone unscrewing it from their pump and bypassing it?

I use my wellpoint water for my toilets.
I’m broke right now, If I’m expected to fork out RxxxK to fit this meter then I’ll just go back to using municipal water – which I thought they were encouraging us to save……and or use alternative water.

Anyone have more insight into this or suggestions?
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of info about this other than “you must fit meters”.