In October 2017, the Cape Times reported that Cape Town had triggered Phase 1 of its disaster plan for acute water shortages. Dams were at 38.5 % with 28.5 % usable, and water was being rationed. A procurement drive covering land- and sea-based desalination, wastewater reuse and groundwater was expected to put 130,000 to 240,000 m³/d into production or construction between December and May 2018. The city had also fitted nearly 7,000 water management devices at properties of defaulting users.
The report showed how broadly Cape Town responded to the drought in 2017: several new water sources were procured in parallel, with desalination as one element among many.
Source: Cape Times (Kopie im Webarchiv)