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WPCA contemplating reduction of club fixtures to help save Cape's water

Cape Town  - The Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) has joined forces with the City of Cape Town to address the urgent call that water usage must be reduced to within the limitations of Level 5 water restrictions by convening a members council meeting to possibly cut club fixtures.

Beresford Williams, President of WPCA, and Nabeal Dien, Chief Executive Officer of the Association, met with the cricketing committee and the local leagues committee. Their initial plan is to contemplate reducing club cricket fixtures without compromising on competitiveness.

The WPCA convened an urgent members council meeting of all cricket clubs on Wednesday 25th October to cut fixtures – a figure of 50% was discussed on Monday without any final decision having been made.

“These steps by WPCA were done in an ardent attempt to support the urgent call by the City that the water usage of the metro is down to 28.5% and interventions like engineered water rationing are needed to address the water crisis,” Williams said.

“The WPCA has already implemented practical steps to save water. One example was the grey-water usage by curators and all the club players at Blue Downs every week to maintain the oval, a practical, proactive measure in support of the people of the Metro,” said Dien.

“Obviously we will consider reducing the club fixtures without knockout matches being impacted or players’ need for recreational activities being adversely affected significantly.”

The City of Cape Town’s release on the water crisis stated that it activated water rationing as part of its plan to address critical water shortages. Currently, the daily collective consumption is 585 million litres.

“Due to the critical nature of available water supply, all water users across the metro must expect water rationing which could lead to water supply disruptions,” the City stated.

The City supplies sufficient water to an area, but if the demand is too high, those in high-lying areas or properties will experience some outages. The City called on those in lower-lying areas to reduce usage to assist in terms of outages in higher-lying areas.

Service will be restored as soon as demand decreases to within the limitations of Level 5 water restrictions, the City said in its release.

Williams said WPCA is one of several stakeholders impacted by the water crisis faced by the people in the Metro. “It is incumbent on the players, supporters and the full spectrum of sport-loving families to support the City in its set plans to address this situation and to restore the situation to within the limitations of level five.

“Together, we as an urban family, must rise to the challenge during a critical juncture of the City’s existence. But we can ensure our supporters that the club game will always remain true to our heart and a pillar of WPCA’s existence.”

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