The City of Cape Town made a number of announcements during a media briefing on Monday.

Speaking about all things water – a hot topic you might have recently found yourself arbitrarily chatting about to anyone and everyone – the big hitter was that Day Zero has been shifted to mid-May.

Yay.

But for those of you collecting water from one of the 70 natural springs dotted around the peninsula, the City warned that only 10 have been tested. That means you shouldn’t be drinking the water until you know what’s in it, reports Times LIVE.

Sampled once a month, the City has been forced to add “newly popular” sites to their routine. About time.

Overall, the springs “do not form part of the city’s water reticulation system and are not monitored and controlled for drinking water standards”. Unfortunately the City is yet to release a list of safe‚ unsafe‚ and untested sites.

And grey water? Do not keep it for more than 24 hours, guys!

Grey water harbours bacteria and cannot be sterilised – so don’t wash fruit and veggies with it, either.

Turns out the temperature also has a part to play:

Health manager Virginia De Azevedo‚ speaking about the “surge season” in which hot weather helped germs proliferate‚ said that hand-washing and cooking with potable water was very important to curb the spread of diseases like diarrhea‚ cholera‚ typhoid‚ food poisoning‚ hepatitis A‚ and listeria.

Jean-Pierre Smith‚ mayoral committee member for safety‚ security and social services, also got in on the action:

“As our region has become more water scarce‚ we need to adapt. We will never return to a system where we use water as casually as before. We should have been doing this for a decade. Now we’re all having to take a crash course.”

He advised that “stocking up on water ahead of Day Zero wouldn’t necessarily work”, as potable water should not be kept longer than a week.

It should also be stored in cool, dark conditions away from sunlight if possible, reports Daily Maverick:

Even the containers water is kept in should be sanitised to prevent contamination. Drinking water should also be handled with care.

It can easily grow bacteria and algae and pose a health risk.

You see, water quality starts decreasing after three days, depending on storage conditions and container quality. Because of this, residents are advised to:

• Use clean and sturdy containers of good quality with screw-closing tops;
• Get a container that has a tap fitted;
• Mark the containers ‘”For drinking water only”;
• Store the containers in a cool dark place;
• Rinse and sanitise the containers and taps once a week, using unperfumed household bleach.

Feel like you haven’t quite prepared enough? Takelot.com will sort you out.

[source:timeslive&dailymaverick]