11 Counting Down to Day Zero: Exploring Community-Based Water Management …
207
The ability of all communities to work together with municipalities to ensure that
the Day Zero was pushed further since 2017 was also raised by many respondents
(65%) as a sign of the success of community-based water management strategies
wherever they were applied. A researcher from the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology (CPUT) was emphatic;
It is not a secret that the major water sources in the six dams that make up the Western
Cape Integrated Water Supply System declined. In November 2017, all these dams were
somewhere around 38% capacity levels which resulted in the adoption of the Day Zero
Concept. Day Zero was initially set for 22 April 2018. It was thought from Day Zero, dams
would fall to below 13.5%, and all taps would run dry and residents would collect a water
rationed amount of 25 L per day. By January 2018, the dam levels had fallen to around 26%.
The fact that we managed to push back Day Zero from March, 2018, 12 April 2018, 22 April
2018, 16 April 2018, 11 May 2018, and now 2020 is a good sign of triumph and success.
Water consumption was also cut from a daily high of 580 million liters to less than that. To
me this was mainly due to community based water management strategies. Without these,
all municipality efforts would have gone to waste.
Consistent with views from the CPUT respondent, the six Western Cape dams
that comprise the Western Cape Integrated Water Supply System, that is, Berg River,
Steenbras Lower, Steenbras Upper, Theewaterskloof, Voelvlei, and Wemmershoek
continued to decline in water levels since early 2017. However, if water consumption levels had continued as before, Day Zero was inevitable. Community-based
water management strategies assisted to reduce water demands as communities
agreed on norms and rules to reduce water usage. On the other, these strategies
assisted to increase water supply sources, in both rural and urban areas mostly by the
drilling of community boreholes and water wells. A researcher from the University
of Stellenbosch concurred;
Though I can’t really quantify the level of success, I am of the view that community based
water management strategies were two-pronged: water demand reduction, and water supply
augmentation. Communities in rural areas and urban areas managed well their water supplies.
Were it not for this, municipalities would have crumbled with pressure, and they couldn’t
have managed keep the water supply levels without avoiding the looming Day Zero. It was a
collaborative and complementary effort. Because municipalities used their legal instruments
to manage water too. We know the City of Cape Town was strict with its Water Amendment
By-Law of 2018 to enforce water control, regulation and management measures.
If one traces the dam levels in Western Cape Province from 2016 up to the present
day, it may confirm the perceptions from the stakeholders that water management
strategies contributed immensely to the postponement of Day Zero. Perhaps, with
better early warning systems, the water conservation strategies would have been
commenced earlier and water usage restrictions applied more gradually (Table 11.2).
207
The ability of all communities to work together with municipalities to ensure that
the Day Zero was pushed further since 2017 was also raised by many respondents
(65%) as a sign of the success of community-based water management strategies
wherever they were applied. A researcher from the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology (CPUT) was emphatic;
It is not a secret that the major water sources in the six dams that make up the Western
Cape Integrated Water Supply System declined. In November 2017, all these dams were
somewhere around 38% capacity levels which resulted in the adoption of the Day Zero
Concept. Day Zero was initially set for 22 April 2018. It was thought from Day Zero, dams
would fall to below 13.5%, and all taps would run dry and residents would collect a water
rationed amount of 25 L per day. By January 2018, the dam levels had fallen to around 26%.
The fact that we managed to push back Day Zero from March, 2018, 12 April 2018, 22 April
2018, 16 April 2018, 11 May 2018, and now 2020 is a good sign of triumph and success.
Water consumption was also cut from a daily high of 580 million liters to less than that. To
me this was mainly due to community based water management strategies. Without these,
all municipality efforts would have gone to waste.
Consistent with views from the CPUT respondent, the six Western Cape dams
that comprise the Western Cape Integrated Water Supply System, that is, Berg River,
Steenbras Lower, Steenbras Upper, Theewaterskloof, Voelvlei, and Wemmershoek
continued to decline in water levels since early 2017. However, if water consumption levels had continued as before, Day Zero was inevitable. Community-based
water management strategies assisted to reduce water demands as communities
agreed on norms and rules to reduce water usage. On the other, these strategies
assisted to increase water supply sources, in both rural and urban areas mostly by the
drilling of community boreholes and water wells. A researcher from the University
of Stellenbosch concurred;
Though I can’t really quantify the level of success, I am of the view that community based
water management strategies were two-pronged: water demand reduction, and water supply
augmentation. Communities in rural areas and urban areas managed well their water supplies.
Were it not for this, municipalities would have crumbled with pressure, and they couldn’t
have managed keep the water supply levels without avoiding the looming Day Zero. It was a
collaborative and complementary effort. Because municipalities used their legal instruments
to manage water too. We know the City of Cape Town was strict with its Water Amendment
By-Law of 2018 to enforce water control, regulation and management measures.
If one traces the dam levels in Western Cape Province from 2016 up to the present
day, it may confirm the perceptions from the stakeholders that water management
strategies contributed immensely to the postponement of Day Zero. Perhaps, with
better early warning systems, the water conservation strategies would have been
commenced earlier and water usage restrictions applied more gradually (Table 11.2).