The Department of Water and Sanitation has imposed a 20% water savings requirement on Western Cape farmers to conserve dwindling water resources.
But the Western Cape and particularly the City of Cape Town have not been successful in meeting these targets, said department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau.
“Generally the sector uses 60-62% of water that is available countrywide,” he said.
The city says the agricultural customers with whom they share dams, use about the same amount of water as the whole of Cape Town. The city has proposed implementing level 4 water restrictions from next month. The restrictions will ban all use of municipal water for outside and non-essential use. This week, Premier Helen Zille officially declared the province a disaster area in response to the drought crisis.
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said stock farmers and irrigation farmers were among the hardest hit. “In livestock, we estimate more than 30000 animals have been sold as farmers battle to feed their core herds. We’ve seen a decline in the volume of wine grapes harvested partly due to a lack of irrigation water. This will result in an estimated R500 million loss in that industry,” he said.
“Current water restrictions for irrigation farmers vary from 30% to 100% in the Berg/Riviersonderend water system. These can have a serious impact on the crop yields in 2017/18,” Winde said.
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture has allocated R80m for drought relief through re-prioritisation of the equitable share budget from 2015/16. These funds have supported farmers with the purchasing of fodder for their animals.
“During the irrigation season we also provided irrigators with near real-time data on the actual crop water use and water shortages experienced by their crops through the FruitLook project,” Winde said.
In light of the level 4 water restrictions, it’s imperative all tourism businesses play a role in conserving valuable resources, said Cape Town Tourism chief executive Enver Duminy.
“We trust our visitors will respect that these efforts are made to ensure the long-term continued enjoyment of Cape Town as a world-class destination.” Duminy said.
The Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront announced the closure of its swimming pool until further notice. General manager Debra Sivertsen said: “The severity of the situation has led us to take this step. As concerned Cape Town citizens, we would like to minimise our water usage as and when we can. As a hotel group we are acutely aware of acting in a sustainable manner where possible. We believe local and international guests will understand.”
The city’s disaster risk management is developing a drought relief plan. Mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy Xanthea Limberg said while minimising waste across all sectors was important, consumption by construction customers in the city made up a small fraction of total water consumption.
The city was engaging with the industry to stress the importance of water saving and encouraged residents who observed contraventions at building sites to report these to [email protected]