Steep water price increase from August
The price of water is set to increase steeply from August when Kouga starts charging emergency drought tariffs.
Kouga Mayor Elza van Lingen said the implementation of the higher charges – Part C of the municipality’s tariff structure – was approved by Council at the end of May. The Council also declared a local state of disaster at the same meeting because of the prolonged drought and looming water shortages.
Water restrictions and Part B (critical but not emergency) water tariffs have been in place in Kouga municipal since December 2016.
Van Lingen said Kouga had further been instructed by the national Department of Water and Sanitation to cut back its water consumption by 25% because dam levels had reached critical levels.
“If good rains don’t fall in the catchment areas soon, we are heading for a disaster that will have far-reaching negative implications for the region as a whole,” she said.
“We call on all residents and business to save water urgently. Every drop counts.”
She said an emergency action plan, aimed at conserving and increasing the water supply, would be tabled to Council.
“Emergency measures will include increasing consumer education and the sinking of additional boreholes.
“With the disaster declaration having been gazetted, we are now also in a position to apply for funding assistance from provincial and national government to implement the emergency measures.”
The implementation of emergency tariffs and call for water consumption to be reduced by at least 25% are also in effect in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. Kouga purchases most of its water for domestic use from the Metro, which manages the dams on behalf of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
It is outrageous that the Kouga Municipality has done so little to inform residents and visitors about the water crisis. Cape Town admits it should have done more earlier. Since April, we have faced a water shortage. At that time I started to beg our Councillor Rheede, top officials and the Liaison Officer to put up banners about water shortage across Kouga but to no avail. Several weeks ago I asked the Liaison Officer to at least fix the one and only banner which was blowing off the fence of the Humansdorp Cultural Centre – no response.
Banners are not expensive and are effective in disseminating information. On the part of the Council, – is this sheer incompetence, indifference or a cynical move to shield local business, reliant on tourism, from a negative perception of the area – or worse, a way to increase income via higher water tariffs.
There should be boards up at the entrance to every hamlet, village, town in the area, advising visitors about the water crisis. It is downright negligence that this has not been done already!