The City of Cape Town is trying to reduce reliance on rainfall by implementing water reuse and reclamation technologies. This comes as mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis warns of a risk that the city will encounter the water challenges faced by Perth, Australia, which has undergone a 40% reduction in rainfall over the past 20 years.

As climate uncertainty wreaks havoc across the globe, the City of Cape Town announced that water reuse will make up to 7% of the city's total bulk potable water supply by 2040 as part of its broader New Water Programme.

This programme aims to add 300 million litres of water a day from new sources by 2030, mainly from seawater desalination, groundwater extraction from two major aquifers, and now, water reuse.

While not sufficient to completely protect Capetonians from future climate change-accelerated droughts, these new water projects will lessen the severity of water restrictions when they need to be implemented in the future.

This technology is used worldwide in cities like Perth, Nairobi, Los Angeles, Wulpen, Windhoek, and right here in Beaufort West and George.

It forms part of the city's multibillion-rand attempt to ensure Cape Town is resilient against severe future droughts after the harrowing Day Zero experience of 2018.

During the city's International Water Re-use Conversation held last week, mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: "The whole point is to build the concept of resilience. We don't want to be vulnerable in the future to what Perth has experienced... they have had a 40% reduction in rainfall, not just for...