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While the City of Cape Town’s dams are more than 80 per cent full, The Table Bay has reaffirmed its commitment to saving water.

During the severe drought in 2017 and 2018, The Table Bay implemented a series of water savings interventions and water wise behaviours which saw the hotel retain similar water consumption during peak occupancy periods to that of its lowest occupancy periods.

These remain in place and water conservation is now culture at the hotel.

“We are pleased that dam levels are healthy and that the water crisis appears to be over,” said The Table Bay General Manager, Joanne Selby.

“However, we must remember that South Africa is a semi-arid country and water will always be a scarce and precious resource that must be conserved,” said Ms Selby.

With this in mind, and aligned with International Water Week in August 2019, which was themed Water for Society, The Table Bay remains steadfast in its commitment saving water to help ensure healthy dam levels can be sustained.

Ms Selby said “We all have a responsibility to continue to use water mindfully” with Water for Society being “a stark reminder that water is scarce and many people across the globe do not have access to clean water”.

In response to the water shortage, The Table Bay installed two systems for collecting, recycling and reusing water.

The first collection system treats and stores water from the kitchens and a number of rooms, which is then used to flush the public toilets in the banquet area and also water the gardens around the hotel. The second collection system recycles backwashed water back into the swimming pool.

To improve the water efficiency of the hotel’s gardens, water wise plants were planted; with the hotel’s flowering plants replaced with succulents which require less water. In addition, the irrigation system in the garden beds at the main entrance was replaced with a drip system which reduces water consumption by up to 60 per cent.

Additional water meters were installed to allow water consumption in different areas of the hotel to be monitored closely. With these water meters, the team is able to incorporate water monitoring into the Energy Monitoring dashboard to measure usage and generate reports.

This allows the team to identify areas of high consumption and proactively implement tactics to curb it where possible.

The hotel also installed various water saving devices in the kitchens These include devices such as flow restrictors on taps. To inculcate a culture of water consciousness amongst staff, the hotel conducted training and awareness programs to ensure that employees apply water smart behaviours in their daily tasks.