Cape Town must look into ways to reduce water demand, says climatologist

A climatologist said the City of Cape Town should be looking at ways to reduce water demand in the metro to mitigate low rainfall.

Over the past week, high water usage, coupled with a recent heat wave, resulted in Cape Town’s dam levels at 50.4%.

The city has since warned of looming water restrictions if current water usage trends and low rainfall persist.

ALSO READ: Western Cape’s Bitou Municipality has only 50 days of water storage

Applied climatologist Peter Johnston said Cape Town catchments are designed to have enough water.

"Generally speaking, we have an average rainfall, the dams should fill up by the end of October or November, and with full dams, we can safely see our way through the summer and possibly a slightly dryer year the following year."

Johnston said the problem comes when seasonal rainfall is low.

"Like last year, we had 75% of the average rainfall. So, the dams are lower than normal. So, what we have then is a problem because if we have another dry year, then there's a risk of running out of water completely."

Johnston said it's not easy to create more water supply, but the city should be looking at ways to cut down on demand, including lower tariffs for residents who use less water.