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‘Day Zero’ has moved back a month, from June 4 to July 9. This comes after a weekly drop in dam levels of only 0.5% (compared to a 1.9% drop in 2014).
This week’s lower rate of consumption can be attributed to a Groenland water transfer reaching Steenbras Upper Dam last week and slightly increasing the dam level, as well as to a further reduction in Cape Town’s weekly average demand to 523 megalitres per day (MLD) compared with 1 130 MLD in 2014.
In a statement, the City of Cape Town said: “We want to thank the Groenland Water Users Farming Association for the water transfer, which made a considerable difference when we needed it most.”
Tourism essential to combating Cape drought
In a speech delivered in parliament earlier this month, Shadow Minister of Tourism, James Vos, said: “Available evidence confirms, beyond any doubt, that tourism is essential for economic growth. According to StatsSA, one in 22 employed people in South Africa work in the tourism industry, representing 4.5% of the total workforce in our country.”
He added that the High Level Panel Report on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Acceleration of Fundamental Change, released last year by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, indicated that 1.4 million people were employed in the tourism industry, with one in seven people relying on the sector for their livelihood.
“These statistics demonstrate why tourism is such an integral part of our economy, acts as a key driver of income generation and creates opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship. Travellers sympathetic to our plight might reason that their visit may worsen the water crisis and, as a sign of support, will choose not to visit. But these decisions have both short- and long-term negative consequences on the tourism sector, which usually take time and money to fix.”
Source: tourismupdate.co.za
. This week’s lower rate of consumption can be… "Pin It")