Cape Town Mayor, Patricia de Lille, has confirmed that the city will install desalination plants to purify sea water for drinking. They will give the city at least 250 million litres of water per day, providing usable water for the drought-stricken area.
Recent rainfall and greater conservation efforts by locals have seen dam storage levels rise to 31%. This is good news considering that a few months ago the capacity levels had dropped to 15%. However, there is still a great need for more water going forwards. Cape Town desalination plants could be installed and running as soon as 2018 to help meet this demand and mitigate against future droughts.
The proposed desalination plant, pump station and generators will be located within the public parking area on Beach Road, west of the V&A Waterfront. The contract specifications are vast, and include the procurement of sandbags to stabilise the intake pipes running overland.
The development of Cape Town desalination plants is an exciting step towards alleviating some of the strain the drought has put on the city. That said, we can’t yet afford to give up on water saving efforts. Continue to collect rain water in buckets and use grey water for your gardens and flushing toilets, make sure taps are turned off properly and fix any leaks quickly.
If everyone plays their part, we’ll all benefit while the plans for Cape Town desalination plants are still in progress.