Are you planning a trip to Cape Town? We'd love to welcome you to come and enjoy your stay with us but please just be mindful of the drought. Cape Town is a beautiful city with so much to enjoy. Below is some information we have put together from various sources to give our visitors as much information as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will I, as a tourist have enough water while I'm staying in Cape Town?
Yes, there is adequate water for tourists to use for daily living and to maintain daily hygiene. In the event of Day Zero, water will be rationed but enough for daily needs.
This is the day the City of Cape Town will shut off water. At the moment it is a projected date which may change depending on the usage.
- How long will the water be shut off for should Day Zero come?
It is estimated it could be as long as 3 months and we ask people to prepare for the worst case scenario. Cape Town gets most of it's rain in Winter so we are hoping that we will get enough rainfall to get us out of a Day Zero scenario.
- Are all areas in South Africa affected by the drought?
Most of the Water Restrictions are only happening in the Western Cape area. There are some outlying areas in the Western Cape which are not as badly affected.
- Will there be drinking water available?
Yes.
- Will tourists be able to bath, shower and use swimming pools?
Tourists are welcome to shower but are asked to keep their shower time under two minutes. We strongly advise our guests against using baths. If you are travelling with a baby we can make arrangements for you to get a baby bath. At the moment swimming pools are operational, but the levels are dropping. If the water levels drop below the back-wash/weir level, pools may no longer be operational. We legally cannot top up the pools with municipal tap water and are facing a lot of difficulties sourcing alternative pool water. Cape Towns infamous strong South Easter winds often cause excess debris and cleaning of this can prove challenging. We will do what we can to manually clean the surface, however ask our guests to be understanding with us and our abilities to keep pools clean during this time. There is a strong chance that the pool at your property might not be functional at all.
- Will restaurants and bars still be open?
Yes.
- Can I still drink tap water?
Yes.
- Will emergency services still be working?
Yes.
- Will major events still happen?
Yes. Lots of pre-planned events have been working on strategies to keep the events on and make sure they don't have a huge affect on the water in Cape Town.
Tips to help save water
- Shower with a bucket.
- Limit your shower to 2 minutes. Here are some great songs by local artists who have edited some of their songs to 2 minutes so you can still sing in the shower.
- If you're waiting for water to get hot, put a bucket under the faucet to catch the cold water.
- Flush your toilet with grey water (your shower water, dishwash water etc)
- Only flush the toilet when necessary. "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."
- Use grey water to clean your floors.
- Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. Keep a cup with water in to rinse and discard the water into a grey water bucket.
- Empty your dish water into a grey water bucket.
- Wait for a full load before doing a clothes wash.
- Hand wash rather than using a washing machine.
- Use hand sanitiser instead of washing your hands.
Below is an infographic from EWN of what 50 litres of water can do for you.
If you are interested in seeing more information on how the dam levels and desalination process is going visit the City of Cape Town Dashboard
here.Day Zero has been pushed out to 2019!
