Government intervention saves West Coast town from the brink of Day Zero
Taps in Saldanha Bay were days from running completely dry before an intervention from local government led to water being released from the Berg River dam.
While the Western Cape's official Day Zero estimations have been pushed out to 2019, there are still many areas of the province that are faced with a dire shortage of water.
In Saldanha Bay on the West Coast, residents had been told to prepare for their taps to run dry by 24 April. The town's supply at the Misverstand Dam has been dangerously low for some time.
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Western Cape Premier Helen Zille approached national government for help. Water and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti came to a decision to release 5-million cubic metres of water from the Berg River dam into the Misverstand Dam in order to supply Saldanha Bay and the nearby West Coast towns.
The Premier posted a video of the moment the dam released water.
We are releasing water from the Berg River Dam to top up the Misverstand Dam to keep water supplied to West Coast towns. Pls make sure that no-one is caught by the water coming down the dry Berg river bed on its way through S'bosch, Drakenstein and Swartland. pic.twitter.com/0Uz553a6hi
— Helen Zille (@helenzille) April 18, 2018
Reports state that it will take seven days for water at the Misverstand Dam to be available to residents.
In the meantime, the municipalities of Saldanha Bay and the surrounding West Coast towns have been warned to be on the lookout for possible flooding resulting from the dam release.