Homeowners using more than 20kl of water a month could now face fines of between R5000 and R10 000, 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.
This sector includes offices and small businesses, but excludes industrial properties.
The upper daily limit of 87 litres a person remains in place, but Mayor Patricia de Lille advised homeowners to keep emergency 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.
For more information, visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater and https://bit.ly/ThinkWaterCalculatorCT for water saving tips. Email towater@capetown.gov.za for queries or to report contraventions or SMS to 31373.