The public notice issued on 5 July 2017 by the Director: Water and Sanitation of the City of Cape Town in terms of the Water By-Law, imposes level 4b water restrictions on residents.
Level 4b means:
- The consumption of municipal drinking water is limited to 87 litres per person per day;
- There is a ban on the use of municipal drinking-quality water for outside and non-essential purposes;
- For users supplied with water in terms of special contracts (notarial deeds, water service intermediaries or water service providers), the contract conditions shall apply;
- Nurseries and customers involved in agricultural activities or with historical gardens may apply for exemption;
- City departments may only water/irrigate sports fields, parks, etc. using non-drinking water and upon agreement of days and times with the Water and Sanitation department;
- Facilities/customers making use of borehole water, treated effluent water, spring water or wellpoints may continue to use the water, but are encouraged not to water/irrigate within seven days after rainfall that provided adequate saturation;
- All boreholes and wellpoints must be registered with the City and must display the official City of Cape Town signage clearly visible from a public thoroughfare;
- No topping up of swimming pools with municipal drinking water is allowed, even if fitted with a pool cover. This includes the filling of new pools or the refilling of an existing pool after a repair. This applies to all pools including public pools and pools at clubs, businesses and institutions.
Non-compliance will result in the installation of water management devices on a residents premises where the water usage is unjustifiably excessive with respect to the restriction level;
Residents are charged according to the 2017/18 Level 4 tariffs. The 2017/18 domestic full tariffs (stand-alone houses and cluster residence) for water are as follows:
Residents can contact the City via email to water@capetown.gov.za for queries or to report contraventions of the water restrictions (evidence should be provided to assist the City’s enforcement efforts), or you can send an SMS to 31373.For information on how to adhere to the less than 87-litre usage requirement, you can visit the water restrictions page on the City’s website.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)