Cape Town water prices could jump - De Lille
28 February 2017
Cape Town - If Capetonians don't cut water use even more, the next step to avert dry taps could be putting treated waste water back into the system and an expensive desalination plant, which would push water prices up by at least 50%, Mayor Patricia de Lille said on Tuesday.
With the dams that feed the city at 33% capacity, De Lille plans to ask for Cape Town to be declared a disaster area.
The reduced consumption target of 700 million litres a day still seems out of reach, with the latest figure at 837 million litres, thanks to around 20 000 excessive water users.
"We have 121 days left of usable water in our dams," said De Lille at a briefing to drive home the city's water crisis.