World Water Day is held annually on 22 March to remind us humans that water is not simply a vital need for our bodies, it is also a resource we benefit from every day.

Often we take clean, safe water for granted so it is crucial to educate communities about the need to protect and conserve our most precious resource in a sustainable way.

Next week, Overstrand Municipality’s Draft Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) for 2024/25 will be tabled to Council. Make sure to download the document once uploaded on the municipal website and add your comments. The current water and sanitation situation is discussed in detail in the WSDP and the planned future water services projects are also addressed in the document.

Kids are thirsty for knowledge and after the school holidays, Overstrand Municipality will continue to teach the grade RR to grade 4 learners to care for our water sources and the environment assisted by the colourful characters of the local theatre group, Story Team. Annually more than 2500 schoolchildren benefit from this puppet show.

Residents have a collective responsibility to educate our communities to use water sparingly, especially in view of the approaching Easter holiday period.

Start with the basics: By making a few small changes to the way we use water in the home, you can reduce water use:

• Flush the toilet only when really necessary
• Don’t let the tap run when you brush your teeth, wash your hands or do the dishes
• Fill the dishwasher and/or washing machine to the hilt before you let it run
• Water your garden only before sunrise or after sunset and use a watering can, not a hose
• Use a bucket, not a hose, to wash your car
• If you detect a leak, fix or report it immediately

In the Overstrand, restrictions on water consumption have been implemented in Pearly Beach from 19 February 2024 to reduce water demand from the Koekemoer and Pearly Beach dams in that area.  The co-operation of the Pearly Beach community to date appears to be excellent, with the water demand in February 2024 already 25% less than in January 2024. The dam levels also appear to be stabilizing to some extent.

Investigations are also underway to determine whether groundwater might be a viable alternative to improve the town’s water security in the long run.

The intention is to upgrade the Pearly Beach water treatment plant to a point where water from the Koekemoer Dam only can be treated up to SANS 0241 drinking water standards without the need to blend it with water from the Pearly Beach Dam. The project should be completed by the end of May 2024 if all goes according to plan.

In the Hermanus area, the exploration and development of groundwater sources started during the 1990’s.  The De Bos Dam has a limited sustainable yield, and with a rapidly growing population it became necessary to augment the raw water sources available to the town.

The abstraction of groundwater to supplement the water supply from the De Bos Dam to the Greater Hermanus area played an important role in Hermanus’s need for additional drinking water resources.

Overstrand Municipality commenced in February 2024 with further explorative drilling in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.  Preliminary findings show that the two boreholes drilled to date should produce very good yields. Detailed test-pumping is currently underway and should determine the sustainable yields of these boreholes. Should these tests return positive results, the Municipality will proceed with drawing up borehole designs, procuring equipment and installing the required infrastructure. A recent feasibility study has shown that the next augmentation option for Hermanus will most probably be seawater desalination, which will have to be developed within the next 5 to 7 years.

Rooi-Els, Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay are supplied from the Buffels River Dam, Kleinmond from the Palmiet River, Gansbaai from the Kraaibosch Dam and the Grotte and De Kelders Springs, Stanford from the Eye Spring and two boreholes, and Pearly Beach from the Pearly Beach and Koekemoer Dams.

The De Bos Dam is currently 76.4% full, compared to 92.5% this time last year. The Buffels River dam level at 86.72%, the Kraaibosch Dam at 90.7% and the Koekemoer Dam at 75% are still at satisfactory levels with the exception of the Pearly Beach dam which is only 20% full.

Users are once again reminded of the Overstrand water services bylaw no. 46(1), which determines that no irrigation should take place between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00.