Concerning the water crisis in Cape Town and the sudden change of Day Zero to 2019 I would like to point a few things out.
The Western Cape Government (WCG) wants to monitor boreholes and well points with a meter, and obviously they want to charge people for water they are drawing from underground. Besides being unethical, the WCG didn't pay for the pumps or the service rendered to acquire this water, so how can they now charge for it?
People are getting both well points and boreholes and going off the grid, relieving some of the stress to our water systems. There is almost no water in the dams so we have to do something, and we have. Besides using as little water as possible and farmers graciously giving us water they sorely need, those who have either a borehole or well point are actually putting water into the water system, water that wasn't there before. They should be paid for this water, not the other way around.
They paid for the pumps and the drilling and they flush it into the water system. They should be compensated by the City of Cape Town for this service, despite it not being done for the purpose of remuneration. I think the WCG should go ahead and put those meters on everyone providing extra water to the City and compensate them, particularly those with boreholes.
The City of Cape Town cannot charge for a service they do not provide. The water being drawn up from is from underground fresh water streams and rivers that run into the ocean. The City is not providing this water, the people with boreholes and well points are and that is a large part of the reason Day Zero has been moved to 2019.
