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Cape Town Mayor outlines status quo of water crisis

During a recent speech delivered at the Atlantis Aquifer, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille thanked Capetonians who had been making efforts to cut their water usage, saying that about half of water users had restricted their daily usage to 87 litres per day.

But added that this was not enough. “We need each and every Capetonian and business on board as a partner on this journey,” she said.

“We are in an unprecedented drought crisis and this phase is critical because if the City and residents don’t do enough together and simultaneously, we will run out of water.”

She said the City was doing everything in its power to ensure additional supply, including finding and hiring the country’s best team of experts who were working 80-hour weeks with the metro to ensure that additional water could be brought ‘online’.

The Atlantis plant was one of several sites for alternative water sources which form part of the ‘Water Resilience Plan’.

The City of Cape Town had recently refurbished many of the boreholes around this West Coast area to increase the production of this plant. She pointed out that these boreholes formed a part of the City’s unique Artificially Recharged Aquifer System and said a lot of work had gone into ensuring an increase in the volume of water from this aquifer system.

Prior this work, the system had been producing around four million litres of water per day. “We have now increased the yield from this aquifer by an additional five million litres per day.”

The water is serving homes and industrial businesses in Atlantis, Mamre and Pella on the outskirts of the West Coast, which is quite a vast area. “So the additional capacity will be welcomed,” the Mayor said.

“This work demonstrates our commitment to addressing this current drought crisis. I repeat my commitment that I will not allow a well-run city to run out of water.”

She added that she had made it clear when the site of a new desalination plant with the V&A Waterfront had been announced: “we have a plan and we will supply water, but we need Team Cape Town to assist us”.

In the meantime, the City of Cape Town announced that Level 6 water restrictions will be implemented from 1 January 2018, which means that households using more than 10,500 litres per month could face fines and penalties. A proposal for a drought charge of between R45 and R2 800, depending on the value of the property, has also been tabled.

Take a look at these recent photos of the Theewaterskloof Dam, looking more like a desert than a body of water:

water crisis, theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought

 

water crisis, theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought

 

water crisis, theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought

Water saving and greening go hand-in-hand for ERCID

In a year of serious drought and steadily increasing water restrictions, it may seem like an odd time to be greening an industrial area.

However, if you’ve recently spent some time in the Elsies River City Improvement District (ERCID), you may have noticed a potted garden or two, brightening up the stark facades of buildings and factories.

greening_Elsies_River_improvement_district

How can this be?

Well, according to Chairperson John Houston, the ERCID’s potted gardening projects – visible at Weavewell in Coleman Street and between Messaris Chips and SA Forklift at the canal off 16th streethave gone hand-in-hand with massive water-saving measures.

“Our greening efforts have not been affected by the drought at all, as we’ve been caring for the gardens with rainwater collected from the roofs of our buildings,” he explains.

Throughout the ERCID, various buildings have been equipped with 1000-litre tanks to catch up rainwater, which can be put to use in various ways.

Elsies_river_improvement_district_Watertank

For gardening purposes, the stored water is transferred to the ERCID’s legendary home-built fire truck and then distributed sparingly among the different pots.

Houston says that having a bit of greenery and other general maintenance – such as cleaning lampposts, weeding and keeping the streets clean – has made a world of difference to an otherwise relatively uninspiring area.

“I personally have been complimented by my visitors to say how clean, neat and safe the Elsies River City Improvement District has become,” he notes.

In 2018, the ERCID hopes to further improve on these projects and also to encourage businesses to give their buildings a new coat of paint.

No vacant buildings in ERCID, due to increased demand: 2017 in review

Since its launch in July 2015, Elsies River City Improvement District (ERCID) has become a shining example of just what can be achieved through hard work and dedication to change.

According to Chairperson John Houston, the successes of the ERCID can perhaps be seen most clearly in an influx of new businesses.

“Due to the clean, safe environment created and managed by Geocentric, we’ve experienced a sudden demand for property in the ERCID, so much so that there are currently no vacant buildings,” he said in his AGM message.

A few of the most notable improvements in the area include:

  • stop signs and road markings on all the streets
  • blocked storm water drains have been cleared
  • lampposts are continually being cleaned up and painted
  • CCTV cameras assist the foot and vehicle patrollers to identify problems before they start

“One of our biggest achievements of 2017 specifically has been managing to save huge volumes of water in storage tanks and creating gardens throughout the area,” Houston adds.

With 2018 just around the corner, Houston has said that they simply hope to continue on this good track of greening and maintenance in the new year and that there are also plans for additional CCTV cameras and fixing of road surfaces throughout the ERCID.

 

Elsies River City Improvement District AGM 2017

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC will be hosting a Annuall General Meeting and all stakeholders are invited to a review of the year’s activities and planning for 2018/19.

Date:     30 October 2017

Time:     16:00

Venue:   Emplast, 40 6th Avenue, Elsies River

Resolutions presented at the AGM can only be voted on by bona fide members of the ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC. This membership is available free of charge to all owners of commercial or industrial properties within the ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SRA footprint, but they must be registered before 16 October 2017.

For further information  please e-mail info@ercid.co.za or call 083 255 7657

Please click here to download the relevant documentation from our AGM page

Become a member of the Elsies River CID NPC

Membership of the SRA, which is a non-profit company registered under the Companies Act, is open to all the registered property owners who are encouraged to apply for membership so that they may exercise their rights to influence the business of the SRA. Membership cannot be denied to a registered property owner and as a member the property owner is entitled to attend, participate and vote at members meetings of the Company held under the auspices of the Companies Act.

Should a member be unable to attend they may give another individual their proxy to attend and vote on their behalf. Non-members may attend and participate at members’ meetings but cannot vote and as such may thus have limited influence on the SRA’s activities.

Membership application forms can be downloaded from the link below – once complete please send the form back to info@ercid.co.za

Click below to download the Membership Application Form

 

Elsies River CID – Big Brother is watching

It seems that some criminally minded people venture into the Elsies River City Improvement District not realizing that they are being watched by our dedicated CCTV team and that our response vehicles and officers are ready to pounce on any would be criminal who tries to perpetrate a crime in our area.

In the last week, our CCTV cameras and the response from our patrol vehicles and officers meant that two attempted business break-ins were averted.

Spotting people climbing over or through fences in the middle of the night and reacting with our patrol vehicles means they either give up their plans and run away or stubbornly continue and get caught.

As the pictures below show, our cameras are always watching and just when you think you are getting away with it you are caught in the act.

Well done to our public safety team from Zonewatch

SUSPECT ENTERING PREMISES 23H55RESPONSE CATHING THE SUSPECT  WhatsApp Image 2017-07-20 at 00.42.09 WhatsApp Image 2017-07-20 at 00.43.11

We will be expanding our camera network again in the next few weeks with an additional camera near 16th Street and 8th Avenue and we will keep you posted on developments soon.

 

 

Overall city water use still exceeding restriction target

The City of Cape Town is calling on residents to intensify their efforts to save water. Overall usage of drinking water is currently approximately 10% higher than the required savings target to prevent drawing dams down to dangerous levels by the end of summer.

 

The City of Cape Town advises residents that overall water consumption since the imposition of Level 3 restrictions is still 10% above the savings target of 800 million litres per day. In order to protect our water resources, residents have been asked to keep their water consumption over the coming summer months in line with their consumption over winter.

 

“The start of the hot summer months generally carries with it a spike in water use as residents fill up their pools and use more water in their gardens. If we are to meet our targets, residents will need to cut these activities back to winter levels, or intensify their efforts to save in other areas to keep their consumption in line with how much they used during winter. Approximately 70% of water in Cape Town is used by residential customers, and as such these consumers will have the biggest influence on how secure our future water supplies are”Alderman Ernest SonnenbergCity Mayoral Committee Member: Utility Services

 

Residents who would like to save water could consider harvesting rainwater or installing a borehole or water-well provided they register these with the City. This investment will also result in savings for residents in the long-run.

In addition to adhering to restrictions, residents can also employ the following tips in their homes:

 

  • Ensure that washing machines or dishwashers have a full load before running them
  • Rinse dishes and vegetables in a basin of water rather than under a running tap, and reuse the water for pot plants or in the garden
  • Reuse rinse water for the next cycle of washing up
  • Thaw frozen foods in the fridge, at room temperature, in a basin of water, or in a microwave rather than placing them under running water
  • When using taps, don’t let the water run down the drain while waiting for the hot water or for the water to cool. Rather collect the water in a bottle
  • Close the tap when brushing your teeth
  • Plug the sink when shaving rather than rinsing your razor under running water
  • Shower rather than taking a bath – a half-filled bath uses 113 litres of water, while a five-minute shower uses about 56 litres
  • Install a water-saving showerhead, take shorter showers, don’t run the water at full force, and turn off the shower when soaping
  • Reuse bath water in your garden
  • Install a new water-saving toilet
  • Check if your toilet is leaking. Furthermore, residents can place a 2-litre bottle filled with sand into their cistern to reduce the amount of water used with each flush
  • Ensure that gardens do not require large amounts of water to maintain

 

For more information on water restrictions as well as a more exhaustive list of water savings suggestions, residents can visitwww.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater. The City will also be advising consumers of restrictions in an insert in their next municipal invoices. We encourage residents to familiarise themselves with these restrictions and display them prominently in their homes.

 

If residents would like to get clarity on any of the restrictions, they can also view the FAQ document at the link above. If this does not provide an explanation they need they can send an enquiry to water.restrictions@capetown.gov.za. Residents who would like to report contraventions by members of the public can do so by contacting the City’s call centre on 0860 103 089, sending an SMS to 31373, or sending an e-mail to contact.us@capetown.gov.za.

 

Click here to read and download the formal water restriction notice from the City of Cape Town

 

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC will be hosting a Annuall General Meeting and all stakeholders are invited to a review of the year’s activities and planning for 2017/18.

Date:     31 October 2016

Time:     16:00

Venue:   Emplast, 40 6th Avenue, Elsies River

Resolutions presented at the AGM can only be voted on by bona fide members of the ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC. This membership is available free of charge to all owners of commercial or industrial properties within the ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SRA footprint, but they must be registered before 17 October 2016.

For further information  please e-mail info@ercid.co.za or call 083 255 7657

Please click here to download the relevant documentation from our AGM page