Haunting Video of Old Vineyards as Water Scarcity Becomes Cape Town’s “New Normal” – De Lille

Cape Town now has less than 10% of drinking water left, and residents are being asked to use no more than 100 litres per day. The water scarcity – which Mayor Patricia de Lille yesterday labelled “The New Normal” – is particularly evident in this haunting video of old vineyards… which have now become visible in Theewaterskloof Dam (Cape Town’s main source of drinking water).

The videographer – YouTube user Visual Viticulure – uploaded the video a week ago and said: “Dam levels in the Western Cape have dropped to extremely low levels, revealing weird and wonderful treasures.

“The vineyards in the video have been submerged for more than three decades.

“It was an eerie feeling walking through these old forgotten vines. It was a feeling of neglect. It was a sad feeling. Maybe I’m just too much into viticulture, I don’t know, but I felt sorry for these vineyards…

“They drowned so that we could have water to live. They were sacrificed, and now – just for a short time – the sun shines upon them once more.”

Watch Theewaterskloof Dam Reveal Treasures from our Past

Aerial drone footage, from just three days ago, clearly shows he extreme drought that Cape Town (and other parts of the Western Cape and South Africa) are facing.

JP Taylor, who filmed this on 28 May 2017, said: “There is less than 10% water left in the dam! Welcome to share this video to spread awareness of how serious this Drought is!”

Watch Theewaterskloof Dam during Drought at less than 10% drinking water left

Speaking at a full council meeting on Wednesday, 31 May 2017, Cape Town City Mayor Patricia de Lille said:

“Water is not to be taken for granted. To run out of useable water is to be presented with a crisis of catastrophic proportions…

“The drought we are currently experiencing is the most stubborn in recent history. It is a significant shock to the fabric our city and accentuates many other underlying stresses such as urbanisation.”

She said restrictions, which have been in place since 2005, were intensified 18 months ago, and have progressively gotten tighter.

“And as per practice over many decades, we have relied on winter rainfall to replenish the dam system that satisfies our water needs.

Dam storage levels are now at 19,7% she said, which is 0,8% down from a week ago. With the last 10% of a dam’s water mostly not being useable, dam levels are effectively at 9,7%.

She thanked those who have made an effort to reduce their water use, but said she’s disappointed that daily use is 666 million litres of water, rather than the current target of 600 million litres.

“At this point in time it is important to take stock of the situation… What has worked very well in the past may not be the best model going forward.

“And importantly we need a new relationship with risk. Climate change, most notably, adds significant uncertainty. The models are in flux…”

“We cannot be sure whether it will rain this winter. We have gone through May with nothing much to show with regard to rainfall.

“June might be better, but the point is we do not know. The confidence in weather prediction is low.

“We need a new relationship with water. The days of plentiful water supply in Cape Town may very well be over.

“And even if abundance emerges in one or two years from now, we cannot be sure it will last.

“Times of abundance should be regarded as the anomaly in the system, not times of scarcity.

“We need to embrace the fact that water scarcity is The New Normal and all our future planning must accept that we are living in a drought-stricken area.

“We all need to change our approach to scarcity. It does not mean that our lives should be diminished or the economy negatively affected.

“The New Normal is an opportunity for us to significantly change our approach to water.

“It is about building resilience… we need to rethink our over-reliance on surface water and increasingly embrace more non-surface water options such as water reuse and desalination.

“We need improved design and innovation with regard to water use and reuse in both public infrastructure and, private households and businesses.

“And we need an improved public understanding of water. Water does not come from a tap but through an expensive process…

“I am today announcing a new and heightened response to the drought…

“Council will consider a move to Level 4 water restrictions today. This prohibits the use of potable water outside of the house and it implores each of us to use no more than 100 litres of water each day. Think 100 litres.”

She asked residents to think carefully about how they use water each day – from flushing the loo to cooking and cleaning.

“Council is already well aware of the various small scale augmentation schemes that are currently being put in place to increase non-surface supply options.

“These include drawing water from the Table Mountain Group aquifer and the Cape Flats aquifer and small-scale desalination at Koeberg, among other things…

“Over the next four weeks we will work tirelessly to bring online even more modular desalination and water reuse options.”

De Lille also suggested to Council that a Water Resilience Task team is established under the leadership of the Chief Resilience Officer.