Cape Town Hopes to Relax Water Restrictions in Next Few Months

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s City of Cape Town hopes to relax water restrictions in the next few months as early winter rains eased fears of shortages in the country’s most popular tourist destination, the deputy mayor said.

“While we hope to reduce the current restrictions in the near future, and the tariffs associated with them, that decision is dependent on national government relaxing restrictions in releases from the water supply system,” Deputy Mayor Ian Nielson said in Cape Town Thursday.

Fears that South Africa’s second-biggest city would run out of water have abated as good winter rains helped top up dam levels and ease the worst drought on record. “Fortunately, the rains started early in our winter and fell at rates closer to the average than in the previous years," Nielson said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Vecchiatto in Cape Town at pvecchiatto@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jacqueline Mackenzie at jmackenzie9@bloomberg.net, ;Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net, Gordon Bell

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