Free water bottled at Newlands brewery will be available at up to 300 shops in Cape Town if Day Zero arrives‚ executives at South African Breweries (SAB) said on Thursday.Ricardo Tadeu‚ SAB’s zone president for Africa‚ said the company expected to spend about R24m on what it had dubbed Project Rain.It would involve filling 12-million "quart" beer bottles with pasteurised water from the brewery’s spring‚ and distributing them through large and small retailers.Des Jacobs‚ SAB’s Western Cape regional director‚ said test runs were already being conducted at the brewery and bottling would begin in March.If Day Zero arrived‚ SAB would work with the disaster management centre to send water supplies to parts of the city with the greatest need. The water would have a shelf life of 12 months.While the water would be free‚ consumers would be charged a 90c deposit for each bottle.Jacobs said the brewery hoped to speak to the Muslim Judicial Council about concerns that using beer bottles for wat...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.