Dave Bellairs of the Cycle Tour Trust chats to John Maytham about the plans in place for the Cape Town Cycle Tour. He says when planning began for the March 2018 event, water was top of the agenda.
They have compiled a brand new water policy, he says.
We have had an independent environmental management company come in and do an assessment of our water footprint.
— Dave Bellairs, Cycle Tour Trust
They are exploring a variety of options including bringing in water from outside of the province to supplement water usage for ice on route - and also using desalinated water for washing, toilets and showering.
It's our intention for 2018 to ensure that we are pretty much completely off the municipal grid and municipal potable water altogether.
— Dave Bellairs, Cycle Tour Trust
Their current water footprint is around 300 000 litres. At this stage with their current plan, they are still looking to source 9000 litres for the chemical toilets. But he says they plan to use desalinated water and this will bring the usage to zero.
The desalinated water will be sourced through a private company, he says.
The actual usage of the water on the day will be taken down to a zero-sum game.
— Dave Bellairs, Cycle Tour Trust
He says they have looked at every aspect and will release the full plan within the next few weeks.
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This article first appeared on CapeTalk : How 2018 Cape Town Cycle Tour plans to use zero municipal potable water