Michelle Nel
“Dire Straits. Coming soon to Cape Town,” proclaims an eye-catching poster. Beneath the words is a picture of cracked mud. Does it mean the internationally acclaimed band Dire Straits is coming to South Africa, perhaps to play at a dried-out waterhole?
A second look reveals the tag line: “Save water. Save the Cape.”
The poster is one of many imaginative reminders to Capetonians and visitors that though Cape Town might look like a city on the French Riviera, it is a dry African city in the grip of a water shortage.
Other posters cajole tourists frolicking in the waves to “Make the most of our coast! But please go easy on our drinking water.” Taxis are emblazoned with “Water is precious. Save Water”.
Various advertisements show falling dam-storage levels, as well as water consumption rates compared with targets. These graphs have been featured with pictures of cute kids in various kinds of baths, in the hopes that families will take note and go easy on the water.
Why the urgent concern with saving water in Cape Town?
“The long hot summer of 1999/ 2000 and below-average winter rainfall resulted in dam levels falling to 14% below the previous year,” explains Cathrine Wilson, who handles communications for the water demand management section of the Cape Metropolitan Council (CMC) administration.
“In September 2000, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Ronnie Kasrils announced that a year-on-year saving of 10% in water use would be required to avert disaster.”
Cape Town introduced restrictions on domestic and agricultural water use in November 2000. These required households and farmers to reduce their consumption by 10%.
“We felt the best way to motivate consumers would be through an extensive, ongoing media campaign, which was at its most intense over the Christmas holidays and for the first few months of this year,” says Wilson.
The campaign came not a moment too soon: dam levels plummeted from 85% in February 1997 to only 40% in May 2001. The focus of the campaign was to educate people about the problem and offer solutions in the form of water-saving tips.
Many different types of media were used, from newspapers to magazines, radio, billboards and taxis. All outreach projects within the water demand management section’s ambit were linked to the water-saving campaign, notably school competitions and Water Week events, because it was felt this would strengthen the campaign.
Throughout the campaign there was daily newspaper coverage as a strip under the weather details. Full-page advertisements were run once or twice a month.
“They were meant to be eye-catching, topical and amusing, and generate a feeling of team spirit in encouraging all Capetonians to work together towards a common goal,” says Wilson.
A water hotline was established to give water users the chance to comment on the campaign. The operator logged up comments and queries for the attention of seven different departments. Interactive roadshows, performed by the industrial theatre group Group Africa, were organised.
And did all this work pay off?
“The campaign certainly did help Cape Town achieve the required water savings. Water consumption dropped significantly on non-watering days,” says Wilson.”But there were people who cheated on the restrictions, which is worrying since the future of Cape Town’s water is in the hands of consumers.
“Awareness initiatives are vital in helping keep the water-saving issue alive and giving consumers the tools to make responsible choices. So we are continuing with the campaign on a smaller scale throughout winter.”
The bottom line is best summed up by another campaign advertisement, a picture of a dam with a huge hole in it saying “Plug it. Save Water. Save the Cape.”
Water Awareness Winner
Winner: City of Cape Town’s Water Awareness Campaign
Prize: R10 000, sponsored by Mala Mala Game Reserve
Judges’ comments: “When it comes to raising awareness about saving water, this campaign really hits you in the face.
“We want to encourage other local authorities to run similarly innovative, accessible campaigns.”