The City of Cape Town has reminded water consumers to remain in the lower 500 million litre per day usage band until another limit is imposed by the National Department of Water and Sanitation.
The city reported on Monday that the city’s dam levels has declined slightly by 0.2% over the last week to 76% of storage capacity.
According to a report, the average water consumption for the past week increased from 546 million litres per day to 563 million litres per day.
“Although the metro has emerged successfully from a crisis situation, consumers are reminded that the permitted usage under Level 5 restrictions is 70 litres per person per day and that the Level 5 tariffs are still on the higher end of the tariff scale. This should be remembered when it comes to household budgeting,” the City of Cape Town said in a statement.
City of Cape Town Level 5 restriction don’ts
- Watering/irrigation with municipal water is not allowed. Nurseries or customers involved in agricultural activities, or those with gardens of historical significance, may apply for exemption;
- Topping up (manual or automatic) of swimming pools with municipal drinking water is not allowed;
- No washing of vehicles, including cars, taxis, trailers, caravans or boats allowed with municipal drinking water;
- No washing or hosing down of hard surfaces with municipal water;
- The use of municipal drinking water for ornamental fountains or water features is prohibited;
- All private swimming pools must be fitted with a cover;
- The use of any portable or temporary play pools is prohibited;
- Should borehole/well-point water be used for outdoor purposes, including garden use, topping up of swimming pools and hosing down of surfaces, it should only be done for a maximum of one hour on Tuesdays and Saturdays before 9am and after 6pm. However, the city discourages the use of this water for these purposes to prevent the over-abstraction of aquifers;
- The operation of spray parks is prohibited; and
- No new landscaping or sports fields may be established except if irrigated only with non-drinking water.
For all water-related information, such as the Level 5 guidelines and frequently asked questions, consumers can visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater. – SAnews.gov.za
