According to the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa’s (Fedhasa) Cape chairperson, Jeff Rosenberg: “Day zero is not an option and we are challenging the commercial sector to work alongside us to avoid it. Everyone agrees that we're nothing without water.
“Water saving is a unified effort and hoteliers can't do it alone. The responsibility to conserve this much-needed resource rests on all of our shoulders. We were united over the power crisis and we need to be the same now.”
The Western Cape is expected to see an increase in tourists this year, up from the 450000 international visitors who flocked to the region between October and December in 2016, said Economic Opportunities MEC, Alan Winde.
He commended the Tsogo Sun Hotel group's water saving measures in particular, which reduced their water consumption by 17%. Similar measures have been adopted at other city hotels, since the beginning of the year.
Some of the measures include: the installation of pressure valves on showers which allow a maximum flow of 8 litres of water per minute; urinal sensors; reduced pressure in basin taps; back of house shower pressure valves which allow for a maximum flow of up to 3 litres; and extra hot water return lines to provide hot water on demand.
Some hotels placed buckets in the showers for the collection of grey water and removed bath plugs from the bathroom so that guests could not take baths.
When it came to housekeeping, fresh sheets and towels were placed in a guest's room on arrival and changed only when requested by the guests; no table cloths are used in restaurants; paper serviettes were used instead of linen ones, and building managements were hyper-aware of high water usage and leaks, said Winde.
“Even at the peak of the tourist season, international tourists on average add less than 1% to the overall population of the Western Cape. While the main consumers of water are industrial users and agriculture, the tourism sector shares in our commitment to reducing water.
“Research has found that in developing countries, tourists use between three and eight times more water than residents. We know that water is key for economic growth, and central to many tourism experiences. This is why we need the tourism sector to partner with us to conserve water.”
Fedhasa Cape hotels segment alternate chairperson, Chris Godenir, said the bookings were currently following “normal trends”, but they had been receiving requests for feedback on the water situation.
“We are expecting similar numbers to previous years, however the situation could change if further restrictions are put in place. It is our expectation that if all businesses and citizens react to the City and provincial initiatives and bring water consumption down to 500 million litres a day there will be no further impact."
He added that hoteliers must “remain vigilant but not alarmist” and keep expected arrivals updated on the current status as and when it changes.
“In the majority of hotels there are visible posters at arrival points, in public areas and in hotel rooms making guests aware that Cape Town is experiencing a water crisis and requesting that visitors comply with the City’s bylaw of recommended usage of 87l/per person/per day, and to use water sparingly. The City has circulated collateral to the industry to assist in notifying guests,” said Godenir.
While municipal water cannot be used to top up swimming pools, establishments needed to rely on alternative water sources, such as water from a well-point or captured rain water.
However, these water sources first needed to be tested and treated to ensure that it was 100% safe for human usage.
In his discussion of innovative water savings at regional hotels, Rosenberg said that Spier Farm and Resort management began their water conservation journey 10 years ago when they realised that the scarce natural resource needed to be recycled.
They began to communicate the need for water conservation to staff and visitors and began recycling water through a treatment plant which was then used in the hotel's gardens and grounds, Rosenberg said.
This past week, Fedhasa members signed the Cape Water Wise Pledge to demonstrate the industry's commitment to reducing water consumption and “increasing awareness campaigns for guests, particularly as tourists prepare to flock to the Mother City for the upcoming peak holiday season,” Rosenberg added.
This followed a seminar they hosted with the Western Cape Province, the City of Cape Town and Tourism Industry and environmental stakeholders, to brainstorm best practice water-saving measures which they will record and publicise.
Anton Bredell, Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC said: “We are seeing the effects of climate change. For the past three years, we have had below average rainfall.
"The City of Cape Town has its plan, and we will be getting all municipalities on board. All high-risk municipalities will go onto level 5 water restrictions. Recovering is not going to be easy, but if we work together we can avoid Day Zero.”