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Cape Town Gets First Desalinated Water as Dam Levels Drop Again

  • City used 525 million liters a day last week, well above goal
  • Residents living with strict water curbs during record drought
Construction on a desalination plant in Strandfontein on Feb. 19.

Construction on a desalination plant in Strandfontein on Feb. 19.

Photographer: Kristin Palitza/dpa/AP Photo

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The drought-hit South African city of Cape Town has received the first water from a series of small-scale desalination plants it’s building as authorities seek alternative supplies.

A desalination plant at Strandfontein on the False Bay coast southeast of the city center produced 1.5 million liters -- about 400,000 gallons -- on May 15 and has supplied that volume to Cape Town’s water system every second day since, Deputy Mayor Ian Nielson told Eyewitness News.