As Cape Town has seen more rain this past week, level of the dams has increased to 101%. It is considered to be more than the last year.
As per the reports, over the past week, level of dams in Cape Town has increased by 1.8% bringing it to 100.1%, more than the last year which was recorded as 99.6%.
The residents might have questions related to Cape Town’s current and future water supply resilience, the dams filling up and more. Considering which, the City of Cape Town has answered all the necessary queries and cleared the doubts of the residents.
The questions were answered by the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Water and Sanitation – Councillor Zahid Badroodien. Read the FAQs:
How does the City calculate a dam’s capacity of more than 100%, and what happens with the excess water once dams have reached their full capacity?
The excess percentages reflect the water depth flowing over the spillways at dams that translates to a volume of water temporarily stored behind the dam wall.
A percentage exceeding 100% indicates that the dam is overflowing. Water that overflows goes down the rivers and is important for the ecological functioning of these water courses.
Why are some dams fuller than others?
The amount of water in each of the dams depends on how much rainfall there has been in that geographical area, which varies according to the season, as well as the volume of the dam. This means some dams may spill over with water sooner than others.
What does my water tariff cover?
Currently residents pay on average between 6c – 8.5c a litre for Cape Town tap water. The water tariff is made up of both a usage (or variable) charge, which depends on how much water is used, and a fixed basic charge.
This tariff is used to recover the cost of supplying a reliable water service. This includes the operational cost associated with the establishment of major infrastructure catchment and treatment of water, operation of the distribution systems as well as repairs and maintenance of infrastructure such as:
- 11,319km of water pipes
- 12 water treatment plants
- 180 reservoirs
- More than 9,266km of sewer pipes
- 490 wastewater pump stations
- 92 water pump stations
- 23 Wastewater Treatment Works
- 296km of treated effluent pipes and 11 treated effluent pump stations, and more!
These costs remain largely the same regardless of the dam levels and the volumetric usage and therefore, the tariffs are set to recover the cost of providing the service.
Cape Town’s dams are more than 100% full. Why do we still need to pay a fixed basic charge as part of our water tariff?
The fixed basic charge is part of the total water two-part tariff structure, consisting of a fixed basic charge and a consumption-based volumetric component, that the City needs to recover the cost of supplying a reliable water service.
It is needed so the City can continue to pay for and provide reliable water services to Cape Town. Should the fixed basic charge be removed, it will lead to a significant deficit and the standard usage part of the tariff will need to be substantially increased.
The fixed basic charge creates stability and reliability in the Water and Sanitation Directorate’s revenue forecast which is used to fund the directorates operating expenditure and the operational cost associated with the Capital Expenditure Programme. This includes projects such as the New Water Programme (NWP), the Water Pipe Replacement Programme and other projects that will help build a resilient service.
Also note that:
- The City is not charging a ‘drought levy’. A ‘drought levy’ was never approved.
- The fixed basic charge is not a penalty or a surcharge.
- Indigent registered households do not pay the fixed basic charge part of the water tariff, and continue to receive an allocation of free water and sanitation.
Can we expect to pay a lower water tariff now that Cape Town’s dams are more than 100% full?
No. The lowest (no restriction) tariff has already been in effect from November 01, 2020. The cost of providing the water service remains largely the same regardless of how much or how little water flows through the system and water residents use, or is in our dams.
Now that the dams are full, should residents still be mindful of how much water they use?
Yes, it’s important that residents continue to use water wisely at all times, regardless of the season or the status of the dams, etc, as this is a precious resource and it should not be wasted. While we cannot rely on these rainy winter days to provide adequate supply for the full hydrological year, this rainfall will serve to increase our water security going into next summer.
What is the City doing to ensure that we have water in future?
In the face of climate change and unpredictable rain, the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is continuing to invest in Cape Town’s New Water Programme (NWP) to help provide a resilient water-secure future for residents.
The City appreciates the heavy rain that has been filling our dams but we cannot allow this to give us a false sense of water security for the future. Cape Town has learnt that we cannot solely rely on dams for water security so the City is busy investing in its New Water Programme. This includes projects such as desalination, groundwater schemes and reuse, which are at various stages of progress. Collectively through these projects, we are working towards increasing supply by an extra 300 million litres of new water everyday by 2030.
This is part of the City’s long-term Water Strategy to help reduce Cape Town’s dependence on rainfall and dam storage as our primary water supply to navigate future climate shocks and droughts.
This is over and above the current interventions to ensure optimal water use and will assist in enabling Cape Town to become resilient to climate change.