Cape Town starts drilling for groundwater from the Cape Flats aquifer

“It is important that all residents continue to save water, despite the City’s work to secure new water sources. I cannot stress it enough: all residents must save water and use less than 87 litres per day.

If we continue to use more than 500 million litres of water per day we will reach Day Zero on 22 April 2018. We must avoid Day Zero and saving water is the only way we can do this.”

• Patricia De Lille, Cape Town Senior Executive

Earlier this week, the groundwater survey confirmed that aquifers around Cape Town could deliver at least 150 million litres of water per day.

The Cape Flats aquifer will deliver 80 million litres per day, the Table Mountain Group aquifer will deliver 40 million litres per day, and the Atlantis aquifer will deliver 30 million litres per day.

The groundwater abstraction projects form part of the City’s programme to supply additional water from desalination, water recycling and groundwater abstraction.

The City of Cape Town will drill in Strandfontein, Philippi, Wesbank, Bishop Lavis and Kayelitsha to look for the best abstraction points to tap water from the Cape Flats aquifer.