BuaNews (Tshwane)
9 July 2007
Cape Town — The anticipated completion of a new dam on the Berg River at Franschhoek is expected to substantially increase water supply in Cape Town.
The Berg Water Project, to be completed in the next few weeks, was implemented by the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority on behalf of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
According to Paul Rhode, head of resource and infrastructure planning in the Water and Sanitation Department of the City of Cape Town, the new dam will provide an additional 81 million cubic meters of water annually.
Most of this water will be allocated to the city in a bid to help the municipality meet the growing demand of water supply.
"The construction project is now in its final phase and to enable water to be supplied from the new dam, it has to be connected into the regional raw water supply system," said Mr Rhode.
In constructing this connecting network, one of the city's main water supply sources would be shut down from 12 to 28 July this year, resulting in a reduction on the municipality's capacity to produce potable water during this period.
"However, as water demand is lower in winter, the city's available water production capacity should be adequate to meet the needs of residents during the 17 days.
"Nevertheless, as an extra precaution, the City of Cape Town would like to urge residents to use water sparingly," said Mr Rhode.
For further information or for advice on how to save water, the public can call the Water and Sanitation Technical Operations Centre on 0860 10 30 54.
Residents could also use this number to report pipe bursts and sewage overflows.
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