Private hospitals are not taking any chances regarding Western Cape premier Helen Zille’s promise that water supplies will be maintained to their facilities in the event of Day Zero.
The three biggest hospital groups — Netcare, Mediclinic and Life Healthcare — are investing heavily in alternative water supplies from the sea and underground so they can run independently of the municipal grid in an emergency. Many of the measures they are taking in Cape Town are being rolled out in other water-scarce regions, such as the Eastern Cape.
The Western Cape is gripped by a such a severe drought that Cape Town’s dam levels have fallen to 25.9% of their capacity. Should the dam levels fall to the critical 13.5% level, which the DA-led municipality says could happen by mid-April, it will switch off the supply to most of the city’s taps. At this point, dubbed Day Zero, residents will be rationed to just 25l per person per day, which they will have to fetch from designated collection points.
"We are very concerned, hence our investments in water conservation and augmentation," said Jacques du Plessis, MD of Netcare’s hospital division.
Netcare is installing a desalination plant in its flagship Christian Barnard hospital on the foreshore, which will yield enough fresh water for the group’s five Cape Town hospitals, its Medicross primary healthcare facilities and its renal dialysis units, he said. The plant could also provide sufficient water for staff showers and drinking water in the event of Day Zero, he said. "Our first priority is service continuity," he said.
Netcare had also drilled boreholes on the grounds of three of its Cape Town hospitals, and was investigating using blackwater he said. Black water comes from toilets.
Netcare had cut water consumption at its Cape Town hospitals by 44% since 2015, Du Plessis said.
Mediclinic’s GM for infrastructure, Kobus Jonck, said the group could not risk relying on promises that hospitals would be guaranteed water if Day Zero arrived. "We are all nervous as Day Zero gets closer," he said.
"We have started drilling boreholes and will transport water between facilities if need be. We are also looking at the need for extra security and are considering providing water to our personnel," he said.
Ten of Mediclinic’s hospitals were directly affected by the water crisis in Cape Town, he said.
Mediclinic had steadily reduced its water consumption by, on average, 3.5% per year over the past eight years, and its Western Cape hospitals currently used 13% less than other hospitals in the group, he said.
Life Healthcare had sunk boreholes, which would be able to supply water to its Cape Town hospitals — Vincent Pallotti and Kingsbury — as well as its renal, rehabilitation and mental care units by mid-March, said its Southern Africa CEO Lourens Bekker.
"In partnership with provincial and local government authorities, special contingency measures will also be in place to allow Life Healthcare to assist in case of emergencies and to mitigate the risk of water resources being plundered during the crisis," he said.
The Saldanha Bay municipality had undertaken to tank water to Life Healthcare’s hospital in Vredenburg should the municipal water pipeline be compromised in any way, he said.
On Tuesday, Zille assured residents that public and private healthcare facilities would be prioritised should the city fail to avert Day Zero. Even so, the provincial government intended to make sure 18 priority public hospitals could turn to borehole water should the municipal supply fail, she said.
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