DETAILS ON HOW THE TWO OCEANS MARATHON PLANS TO SAVE WATER

Organisers at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon will be doing their bit to save water while maintaining the quality of their upcoming event. Organisers are eager to comply with the stringent water restrictions set out by the City of Cape Town in order to avoid Day Zero – the proposed day that the city's taps run dry.

There will be no municipal water used at the OMTOM event as water for race day has been sourced from the Newlands spring, with an allocated and approved dispensation from relevant stakeholders including the Department of Water and Sanitation. The project and planning for the race have been in the works for over three months.

The purified water will be distributed to all participants via sachets and other water delivery systems. Some of the runners will use hydration packs to fill up at the start of the race, instead of using their daily household allowance, and refill stations will be positioned along the Ultra Marathon route. There will also not be any showers available at the end of the race.

All the chemical toilets brought to the various race sites will use only certified recycled water and the University of Cape Town (UCT) will close all the taps at the finish area and their fixed showers at UCT will be inaccessible.

“We have developed a comprehensive action plan and are implementing a range of water-saving and alternative water-sourcing initiatives that will restrict usage of our most scarce and endangered resource,” says Carol Vosloo, General Manager of the Two Ocean Marathon non-profit company.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour, to be held on 11 March 2018, is said to be putting similar measures in place to avoid any negative impact on water resources in the Cape too.