November 2017
FRANSCHHOEK Scan the QR code to read the Tatler online
Tennis development programme
Veritas achievers
Q&A: Dustin Osborne
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Drought disaster deepening EQUINE PORTRAITURE & EQUESTRIAN EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY Fine Art Prints & Bespoke Photo Albums
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The Theewaterskloof Dam, photographed on 18 October, resembled a river rather than a resevoir
With the winter rainfall season, such as it was, a memory there has been an uptick in the urgency with which various levels of government are approaching the deepening drought disaster. For those who still doubt the urgency of reducing water consumption the following will hopefully make sobering reading: • Rainfall in Franschhoek for the first eight months of 2017 – including all of winter – was 357mm. This is only 54% of what fell in during the same period in 2016 (656mm). The last year with ‘normal’ rainfall was 2014, when 877mm of rain fell during the same period. • At the start of October Western Cape dams were on average 35.9% full. (Last year at the same time dam levels were at 62.1%.) • Based on current water levels and consumption patterns dams will effectively run empty by March 2018 – 3 months before the start of the next rainy season. Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) The Western Cape Water Supply System consists of an inter-linked system of six dams (Theewaterskloof, Wemmershoek, Steenbras [Upper and Lower], Voëlvlei and Berg River), pipelines, tunnels and distribution networks. Roughly 60% of the water in the system is used for domestic and industrial purposes in the City of Cape Town (COCT), 30% in agriculture and the remainder by smaller towns, including Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch Municipality obtains approximately 60% of its water from the WCWSS, with the remainder coming from its own sources. (A major concern is that this supply could be halted if it is required by the CoCT.) Stellenbosch’s own sources primarily consist of the Kleinplaas Dam in the Eerste River (Jonkershoek) from where water is led to two storage dams in Ida’s Valley. These are the primary
water source for Stellenbosch Town. At the start of October these dams were in much better shape than the WCWSS, leading the municipality to maximise the use of these sources to prevent any overflow water going to waste and relieving pressure on the WCWSS. The extent to which different parts of Stellenbosch Municipality are dependent on water from the WCWSS varies significantly. Klapmuts, for example, is entirely dependent on water from the Wemmershoek Dam. A similar situation exists in the Paradyskloof area of Stellenbosch, which receives its water from the Theewaterskloof Dam. Franschhoek (including Groendal, La Motte, Wemmershoek and Robertsvlei) receives most of its water from the Wemmershoek Dam. This is supplemented with water abstracted from perennial streams and springs in the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve. Currently most of Franschhoek’s water is supplied from the Wemmershoek Dam and the remainder from own sources. National Department of Water and Sanitation A notice issued by the Acting Director-General of the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and published in the Government Gazette of 28 September 2017, in part reads as follows: “In my capacity as Acting Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation, I hereby under delegated authority in terms of item 6 (1) of Schedule 3 read with section 72(1) of the Act limit the taking of water by all users (of the WCWSS) as follows: • At least a 40% of curtailment on all domestic and industrial water use in the aforementioned areas • At least a 50% curtailment on all agricultural water use in the aforementioned areas • Measured against the water demand of the users as per the five (5) year average from 2010/11-2014/15. Continued on page 2...
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