Cape Town - Local Government and Environmental Affairs MEC Anton Bredell said the provincial government’s main concern with regards to water currently lies with sections of the Garden Route and the Central Karoo districts.
“Communities like Herbertsdale and Merweville are some of our main concerns. These areas remain in severe drought and the department has been providing support on an ongoing basis.
“In Herbertsdale, the process of drilling, testing, equipping and connection of boreholes is on track to be completed by end of March.
“The project, when completed, will supply two million litres per day to the community of Herbertsdale and provide all present and future water needs. Their present water demand is one million litres per day.
“With regards to Merweville, the department is providing ongoing support in terms of refilling the town’s reservoir on an ongoing basis with the assistance of the Coca-Cola company.
"At the same time, the agriculture sector in the affected regions is getting assistance from the provincial department of agriculture on an ongoing basis,” said Bredell.
According to Bredell, the latest average dam level for dams in the Western Cape is 57.4% while last year at the same time it was 45.8%.
Mayco member for Water and Waste Xanthea Limberg said: “Dams supplying the Cape Town metro decreased by 1.7% in the last week. This brings the level to 76.3%, down from 78% the previous week.
“Daily water consumption for the same period increased to 824 million litres per day, compared to 803 million litres the week before. At the same time last year, dam levels were at 64.4%.”
Meanwhile, George Municipality has released 1 500 weevils into the Garden Route Dam as part of a plan to manage the dam’s Kariba Weed infestation.
George municipality parks and recreation superintendent Priscilla Burgoyne said: “The weevils reproduce constantly and are expected to stay and reproduce as long as they have Kariba Weed to feed on.
“The larvae do the most damage as they bore into the stem of the plant and disrupt the vascular system, hollowing it out. The adults eat away at the growing tip which stops growth.”
Cape Argus