Water will become a critical issue for the Western Cape in the next decade, as the province’s population is set to grow by 1.2-million people by 2032.
Cape Town’s population is expected to increase to 5.6-million over the same period, from about 4.7-million now.
This week Anton Bredell, MEC for local government, environment and development planning, said the province was not immune to climate change and forecasts predict “a hotter and drier province with more extreme and intense droughts and floods”.
He said that by 2037 the province will be home to more than 9-million people.
The Western Cape government had developed a climate change response strategy and implementation plan, he said.
Bredell said the plan outlines a vision for the province to achieve net-zero emissions and climate resilience by 2050, while fostering an equitable economy. It focuses on responding to the climate emergency, transitioning to net-zero emissions, reducing climate risk and promoting a just transition to more environmentally friendly methods across sectors.
“The department of local government also embarks on annual on-site activations in high-risk areas which include outside broadcasts from central areas, door-to-door knock and drops and other elements spreading awareness and encouraging water savings.”
The infrastructure network was designed under apartheid spatial planning and, while upgrades are taking place, there is still a lot of work to be done.
— ANC leader of the opposition in the city, councillor Banele Majingo
But Cameron Dugmore, the ANC leader of the opposition in the provincial legislature, said his party has “been consistent in pointing out the DA’s cuts in critical areas such as municipal infrastructure and climate change but shifting funds to bloat the budget of corporate affairs and administration” in the past two years.
“For example, the department of local government has been cutting the budget of municipal infrastructure by a third year-on-year. This means that municipalities such as Matzikama, which had poor people go without water for a week, cannot invest in critical infrastructure to secure water provision,” Dugmore said.
“As a result, Day Zero is actually DA man-made. As in 2008, when the DA-led administration in the City of Cape Town was warned about the impending drought in the city 10 years later, the DA-led Matzikama did nothing to ensure a simple valve was replaced in the water infrastructure.”
Cape Town councillor Zahid Badroodien, the mayoral committee member for water and sanitation, said climate change had taught the city not to rely on dams only. He said the city had invested in a new water programme “which includes projects such as desalination, groundwater schemes and reuse”.
The city’s R18.5bn water and sanitation budget for the next three financial years was approved by the council in May.
“R92.9m will be spent on replacing 50km of water pipes of various diameters in its water supply network as part of investing in reliable water supply to properties,” said Badroodien. To secure the city’s water future, Cape Town “plans to bring an extra daily 300-million litres of water online by 2030”.
Councillor Banele Majingo, the ANC leader of the opposition in the city, said his party appreciated the city’s “conservation strategies to avert Day Zero”.
“However, the ANC wants balanced water conservation and demand management which will provide an inclusive approach for water to supply all communities,” Majingo said. “The infrastructure network was designed under apartheid spatial planning and, while upgrades are taking place, there is still a lot of work to be done. Surely, Cape Town must have learnt a lot of lessons from the previous drought which became a world news story.”
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