Cape guest house owner lands in hot water for topping up pool

A guest house owner used water from one of the wonders of nature to top up his pool.

But Craig Johnstone‚ co-owner of Ashanti Lodge in drought-stricken Cape Town‚ said they only used the spring water from Table Mountain to save water.

“This was not done to save money. This was done because we are seriously concerned about the state of our province’s water supply and what will happen to the people of Cape Town if we run out of water‚” Johnstone said. “The water that we took runs straight from the mountain to Cape Town’s storm water drains‚ and into the sewers and ocean. This water was not taken from anyone who would have been able to use it.” However‚ Department of Water and Sanitation spokesman Sputnik Ratau said it is an offence in terms of the City of Cape Town’s by-laws to take water from a natural canal‚ stream or storm water.

• Try harder‚ water minister tells Western Cape officials battling droughtThe government has demanded a co-ordinated effort to manage the Western Cape drought. 

“Water within its natural environment has a primary function of maintaining a functional ecosystem. Thus‚ it might appear that water is going to waste; however that water might play a critical role in the functioning of an ecosystem; also the water might have been allocated to water user/s downstream‚ hence the taking of water to fill a swimming pool could have a negative impact on the ecosystem functioning and downstream water user/s‚” said Ratau in an email.

“The department can't allow any uncontrolled abstraction from any source and/or resource. All water user/s are required to obtain authorisation prior to taking water from a water source and/or resource and as such adhering to the National Water Act 9 No.36‚ 1998) and the by-laws of the local authority.”

Dam levels‚ according to the most recent city report‚ are at an effective 21‚5%.

• Guzzlers get the message after Cape Town's naming and shaming blamestormMost of Cape Town’s top 100 water users have been removed from a list which revealed their street names last month. 

Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has called for a coordinated effort to manage the drought in the province. Experts from her department have been deployed with officials from the National Disaster Management Centre to assist municipal officers.

“Given the challenges the province faces‚ we must utilise and implement projects that provide access to a water mix that covers augmentation through surface water‚ supports ground water exploration‚ promotes the harvesting of rainwater and drastically decreases water losses through leaks‚ illegal connections and aged infrastructure‚” Mokonyane said.

In a statement issued by Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille in February‚ she said the city is aware of the springs off the Table Mountain range and they have been utilising some of it.

The City has applied to national government to use the springs more extensively‚ she said.

• Pensioner in drought stricken Cape Town watches hundreds of litres of water go to wasteCape Town has been declared a disaster area because of the crippling drought. But every day a pensioner from Manenberg on the Cape Flats watches as many litres of the precious resource goes to waste. 

“The city’s studies show that the yield from these springs is not enough to offset the current drought. For example‚ the Oranjezicht spring source flows out at approximately 2‚77-million litres every 24 hours. However‚ that varies according to the season and long term rainfall patterns‚” De Lille said. “... even if the water from these springs had been licensed‚ it would not have made a significant difference.” Johnstone said: “We would like to apologise to the City of Cape Town for not following the correct procedures for taking water from the stream. We would also like to say that it is very disheartening to see that in the middle of a heatwave and an almost exhausted water supply‚ people who are trying to make a difference and come up with innovative ideas are being punished by the news and media.”