Homeowners using more than 20kl of water a month could now face fines of between R5000 and R10000, after Cape Town’s water restrictions went to Level 5 at the weekend.
Apart from the new 20kl-a-month cap on individual domestic property usage, the new restrictions crack the whip on the commercial property sector, forcing it to cut consumption of municipal water by 20% from usage a year ago.
The upper daily limit of 87 litres a person remains in place, but Mayor Patricia de Lille.advised homeowners to keepemergency stores of between two to five litres of water as further pressure reduction could interrupt supply in higher-lying areas “for short periods during the day”.
Multi-storey buildings not using pumps and overhead tanks, as required by the City’s building regulations, were “likely to experience supply problems”.
Residents of these buildings should approach their body corporates or managing agents to ensure the systems were in place and being used.
A further drop in water consumption was needed if Cape Town was to “safely navigate itself through the drought,” said Ms De Lille.
As of last week, consumption stood at 599 million litres a day, well over the 500 million litres a day target the City set at the start of July.
Water usage in September would determine what actions delinquent users would face. Those failing to comply could face an admission of guilt fine or have their supply fitted with a water clamping device at their own cost.
Visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater and http://bit.ly/ThinkWaterCalculatorCT for more information.
