Ratepayers in Cape Town won’t be getting any kind of relief in terms of water tariffs soon. According to the City’s mayoral committee member Xanthea Limberg, the price of water will remain unchanged, despite the fact that the drought is long over.

The main reason the City has given for not lowering water prices is that dam levels are not the only factor that plays into the cost of delivering water to residents. Dams are currently mostly filled above capacity, with some of them sitting at about 101%.

According to Limberg, the systems they have put in place to deliver water to residents since the drought “remains largely the same regardless of how much or how little water flows through the system”.

“Put more simply, the transporting, quality and reliability of the water supply must remain at the same standard, whether people are using a lot of water, or a little,” she said.

“The service includes the treatment and scientific quality testing of water; operation, repairs and maintenance of infrastructure; and transport and treatment of wastewater. The amount to be recovered to fund the service however depends on how much water is used by the customers,” she added.

Residents have been vocal about the current high price of water, saying that the City was quick to increase prices during the drought, but that they are too reluctant to change the prices to more affordable rates. 

Limberg added that the water situation in Cape Town is notoriously unpredictable and that the City cannot make any sudden decision which they might regret later.