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

[Gordon_R]

To mitigate the effects of less rainfall, water should be regarded as a pricey commodity and not a abundant resource.

Belated response (was busy this morning). That is a great idea in principle, but runs into all sort of practical and constitutional issues.
- There is a signicant delay in the timing of rainfall in the SW-Cape and the months in which peak consumption occurs.
- There is a guaranteed 6kl per month for households (free to indigent users).
- At present users are charged for the cost of processing, not for the creation of water.
- If high water prices reduce demand too much, then storage capacity is wasted.
- Court challenges might strike down any arbitary and unfair rules.

Also refer to the link I posted earlier about tradeoffs in the similarly dry US western states:
http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/west/westwaterlaws.pdf

 

[access]

Warning after warning ignored, shows bad management and a complete lack of planning for what was to come.

Currently the City's PR department is doing an excellent job of "passing the buck" onto the consumers while the consumers are not putting pressure on the city to do what it should have done ages ago.

http://www.eco-h2o.co.za/2010/08/26/water-crisis-time-bomb-ticking/

13 August 2010
http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Environmental-health/News/SA-on-brink-of-water-shortage-20120721

May 24, 2010
https://www.environment.co.za/environmental-issues-news/south-africas-looming-water-crisis.html

2014-11-03
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/South-Africas-looming-water-disaster-20141103

The looming water crisis, and its causes - IRR
10 November 2015
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/water-the-next-eskom--irr

easier to blame the weather. as if we are incapable of other methods, like animals at the water hole.


the ant and the grasshopper comes to mind.

 

[mercurial]

Well, they say it's called The Mother City because things take 9 months to happen. Looks like 9 years at best at this rate...

 

[Archer]

Warning after warning ignored, shows bad management and a complete lack of planning for what was to come.

Currently the City's PR department is doing an excellent job of "passing the buck" onto the consumers while the consumers are not putting pressure on the city to do what it should have done ages ago.

http://www.eco-h2o.co.za/2010/08/26/water-crisis-time-bomb-ticking/

13 August 2010
http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Environmental-health/News/SA-on-brink-of-water-shortage-20120721

May 24, 2010
https://www.environment.co.za/environmental-issues-news/south-africas-looming-water-crisis.html

2014-11-03
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/South-Africas-looming-water-disaster-20141103

The looming water crisis, and its causes - IRR
10 November 2015
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/water-the-next-eskom--irr

In order of links posted
Nothing to do with CT, we in fact have the cleanest water in SA iirc
Talks about SA as a whole, so sure, CoCT should have listened - the counter, CoCT had full dams for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. I don't have data beyond that, but to me who would be thinking there is a problem looking at that?
Mostly talks about water quality again
Doesn't really talk about CT, and again points at water quality issues
Didn't read the whole thing I admit, but mostly talks about the issues at national level, which CoCT can't do much about

I'll say it again, CoCT is hardly blameless, but sheesh, at least use vaguely logical arguments.

 

[yebocan]

Belated response (was busy this morning). That is a great idea in principle, but runs into all sort of practical and constitutional issues.
- There is a signicant delay in the timing of rainfall in the SW-Cape and the months in which peak consumption occurs.
- There is a guaranteed 6kl per month for households (free to indigent users).
- At present users are charged for the cost of processing, not for the creation of water.
- If high water prices reduce demand too much, then storage capacity is wasted.
- Court challenges might strike down any arbitary and unfair rules.

Also refer to the link I posted earlier about tradeoffs in the similarly dry US western states:
http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/west/westwaterlaws.pdf

Thanks, will most definitely have a look at it

 

[Archer]

Further, the city is going on about water, but still opening the public pools in summer?

He says public pools will only be opened during peak holiday times.

Public pools will be open from 1 - 8 October and 29 March - 9 April, including the Easter long weekend.

Over the year-end holidays, swimming pools will open from 1 December to 31 January 2018.

Well that is irritating to say the least

http://www.kfm.co.za/articles/2017/...to-be-closed-longer-this-summer-to-save-water

 

[Archer]

Oh and by my calcs we have enough water until well past March 2018, unless we magically start using 1200Ml per day instead of our current 620Ml Really don't know where they pulled that date from, surely evaporative losses at the dams are not that large?

 

[Archer]

We're a water-scarce country. Many, many property developments have been going up. Big increases in the population.

It's called planning. Stop making excuses for incompetence.

So planning = being able to get through 3 consecutive years of rainfall below the 20th percentile, with 2 of those years being below 50% of the median rainfall? Pull the other one...

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

So planning = being able to get through 3 consecutive years of rainfall below the 20th percentile, with 2 of those years being below 50% of the median rainfall? Pull the other one...

There's something called long-term or 'strategic' planning. As BTTB posted helpfully a while back, many people have been warning the CoCT about this for yonks. This did not come out of thin air despite your assertions to the contrary.

Did water shortage not come out as one of the risks facing the city?

Also remember - perhaps a decade or so ago - we also had water restrictions and the like. Not as severe as now, of course, but the signs were there.

 

[ProfA]

It doesn't. However, whereas the employed spend money the unemployed cannot. The unemployed are completely excluded from the economy.

Now you are talking nonsense. Unemployed != no money. You are making comments like a person who lives under a rock.

 

[Hosehead]

Capetonians should prepare to collect their water in buckets under the
Supervision of soldiers

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/cape-argus/20171005/281968902894019
Keep the foreigners out of the Cape this season there's not enough water to go around

 

[Gordon_R]

Oh and by my calcs we have enough water until well past March 2018, unless we magically start using 1200Ml per day instead of our current 620Ml Really don't know where they pulled that date from, surely evaporative losses at the dams are not that large?

As indicated in the lengthy article posted earlier, the CoCT is not the only entity with water rights! Farmers in the Berg River Valley, Winelands, Overberg, et al, have irrigation rights. These will kick in during the summer. See: http://showme.co.za/paarl/lifestyle/nature-outdoors/dams-latest-levels-winelands-and-cape-town-72/

This chart compares actual consumption in summer 2016/7 with 2017/18 projected capacity:
http://showme.co.za/paarl/files/2017/10/2017-10-02.3.jpg

 

[theratman]

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/cape-argus/20171005/281968902894019
Keep the foreigners out of the Cape this season there's not enough water to go around

Where will Roux go!!??

 

[BigAl-sa]

Pump the rivers.

Erm, and the energy to do this is coming from where? Your new hydrocarbon free electricity system?

 

[genetic]

Every now and then the entire Century City / Royal Ascot is without hot water, as the pressure drops below the point needed to activate the geysers. I fully expect to have no hot water in summer. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

I've never experienced this. I live in Royal Ascot and work in Century City.

 

[Gordon_R]

well downhill gravity etc aside the cost of a water pipeline runs in the millions per kilometer

Anyone following other threads will note that pipelines cost multi-million rands per kilometer: http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Indu...ter-years-of-delays-spiralling-costs-20171006

Apart from the 555km Durban pipeline, the full network comprises a 160km, 16-inch-diameter inland pipeline network, incorporating links from Kendal to Waltloo, Alrode to Langlaagte and from Jameson Park to Alrode, inland and coastal terminals, and three pump stations.

Initially forecast to cost R12.7bn, its budget later increased to R15.4bn before escalating to a further to R23.4bn in 2012. The state-owned entity said on Wednesday that it had invested R30.4bn into the pipeline up to now.

 

[2023]

I've been glancing over the stats for April.

It reads that about 20% of all water usage is "loss", which looking at the doc I guess is the difference between metered readings and the total throughput of the area.

So effectively, City of cape town marks a loss of water at 141ML per day in April (about 20%)...

 

[biometrics]

CITY OF CAPE TOWN

9 OCTOBER*2017

MEDIA RELEASE

WARNING: PHASE 1 OF THE CITY’S CRITICAL WATER SHORTAGES DISASTER PLAN IS IN EFFECT. WATER RATIONING UNDER WAY

Drought crisis:*City's summer water-saving campaigns to kick off*soon

Several key summer water-saving initiatives are set to kick off soon. The City’s focus is on local and international tourism especially, alongside*the existing city-wide drought interventions. Read more below:

Dam storage levels are at 37,8%, with useable water at 27,8%. Consumption remains too high at 607 million litres of collective usage per day.*This is 107 million litres above the crucial consumption target of 500 million litres per day. Alongside the implementation of disaster plans, such as water rationing which is currently under way, bringing on board emergency augmentation projects, and restricting*high water usage, water saving awareness is being enhanced ahead of the traditional peak usage in summer.

The City of Cape Town will shortly be launching one of its key initiatives which we are calling the ‘Save like a local’ campaign. This will*be used to drive awareness about the serious drought crisis, especially among visitors, while at the same time keeping the message as light and inspirational as possible.

The City will rely heavily on the tourism sector to spread awareness. The campaign will include airport billboards in multiple international*languages and branded flags in the CBD and Waterfront areas. Mobile billboards on beaches and at tourist centres will also be used to amplify the message that Cape Town is a water-scarce region which is experiencing its worst drought in recorded history.

The City asks all tourism and related businesses to consider adding contextual digital adverts to their website homepages and booking technology*to drive awareness.

‘As for local tourism, all options are being explored to spread the awareness at road entry points to the Western Cape and Cape Town. We have*also started reaching out to cellphone service providers to see how they can come on board to assist us to call on our visitors and locals to save water.

‘The New Normal requires us to adapt the way that we have been doing things, in all aspects of our lives. If this year’s tourist season issimilar to last year’s, we can expect a bumper season and we will need all visitors to save like a local and follow the example of many of our water ambassadors. We have also had engagements with the tourism and hospitality industry, such as with the hospitalityassociation Fedhasa.

‘Domestic users who permanently reside in Cape*Town will remain the largest users. Our experience shows that the local outflow of people over the festive season and the closure of some businesses and industry, such as the construction industry, mostly balances the inflow of local and foreign tourists.*We will all have to do our utmost to ensure that we spread the message of saving water and the restrictions that we must all adhere to.

‘All operations that are required during this time will be handled in a sensitive manner, balancing the requirements of this city and its people with the*drought situation that we are in. It must also be borne in mind that this is a dynamic situation and the City will place further restrictions in place and lower water usage targets at short notice if required,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member forInformal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.

An online toolkit has been developed with various resources for all to use to help us to drive this message. Please see our websitewww.capetown.gov.za*to access material that you may require. This toolkit will be updated regularly.

For information on how to meet the 87-litre per day usage requirement, residents should please visit the water restrictions page on the City’s*website:*www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater*and utilise our water calculator:*http://bit.ly/ThinkWaterCalculatorCT

Residents can contact the City via email towater@capetown.gov.za*for queries about the water pressure reduction, or to report contraventions of the water restrictions (evidence should be provided to assist the City’s enforcement*efforts), or they can send an SMS to*31373.

Please note that normal supply could be disrupted in order to lower demand. This is part of the aggressive pressure reduction programmes in place*which are set to be intensified.

Water supplied by the City remains safe to drink and is tested in accordance with safety standards.

Residents should please check their water usage by registering on e-serviceshttp://cct.gov.za/sh5O5.*For more information on water management devices, please visit*http://cct.gov.za/mXos4

End

Note to broadcasters:*audio clips are available for download

For English:*https://soundcloud.com/ct-media/damlevels9octxanthealimberg

For Afrikaans:*https://soundcloud.com/ct-media/damlevels9octxanthealimbergamrafr

Issued by: Media Office, City of Cape Town

Media enquiries:*Councillor Xanthea Limberg, Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, City of Cape Town, Tel: 021*400 1299*or Cell:*073 271 2054,*Email:Xanthea.limberg@capetown.gov.za*(pleasealways copy*media.account@capetown.gov.za)

 

[BTTB]

I've been glancing over the stats for April.

It reads that about 20% of all water usage is "loss", which looking at the doc I guess is the difference between metered readings and the total throughput of the area.

So effectively, City of cape town marks a loss of water at 141ML per day in April (about 20%)...


View attachment 468079

This water loss, I have a thought in this regard, surely the less the total metered usage the higher the % loss?
Meaning, 20% is just a percentage at one point in time. I cannot see how 141ML of water per day in April can be any different to any other month when it comes to "unexplained" water loss.
They need to define what they mean by "loss" as my understanding is that this is the water that is lost to leaks and burst pipes.

Unless The City fixed a whole bunch of these leaks since April the loss should still be around 141ML per day whether we consume 600ML per day or 900ML a day or the 500ML per day target set down, it still means that around 141ML is lost somewhere, given that the loss is leaks and burst pipes on an old network of pipes only.

The pressure in our piped system has been kept constant until only recently. Leaks and burst pipes will occur at more or less the same amount, doesn't matter what we consume, the percentage loss should vary up when we consume less and vary down when we consumer more?

The other reason for mentioning this is in regards to The City's target for Level 5 Water Restrictions.
If around 141ML is lost a day and we eventually get to the target 500ML per day consumption. This represents a loss of 28.2% or an actual consumption of 359ML per day.

It might be a good thing that The City is doing pressure drops, this will ensure there is less lost water where there are "un-metered" losses.

 

[satanboy]

Every now and then the entire Century City / Royal Ascot is without hot water, as the pressure drops below the point needed to activate the geysers. I fully expect to have no hot water in summer. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

BS....I have never experienced this.