Do your bit, City warns water hogs
THE City of Cape Town has warned residents that the collective consumption of water must be brought down to 500 million litres per day. This comes after the City implemented Level 5 water restrictions on Sunday.
The restrictions are especially focused on curbing the consumption of the commercial sector, and single residential properties with many people living on the property.
“According to our information, almost one in two Capetonians are doing everything in their power to save water. But obviously not everyone is doing their bit. All water users must use less than 87 litres per person per day wherever they are. The City also continues with its programme to restrict the supply of water to domestic properties who have not been able to justify excessive usage.”
Mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services; and energy Xanthea Limberg, said: “The City’s water and sanitation management department is expecting to have installed more than 50 devices at residential properties with excessive usage by the end of this week.”.
The City also urged residents to reduce the water flow on their property through adjusting stopcocks or water control taps.
Meanwhile, Stellenbosch University’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has invented a smart way to monitor water consumption.
A project headed by Professor Thinus Booysen enables the use of smart metering technology to limit water usage and minimise expenses.
The small device is attached to a municipal water meter and then reports into a web server using a smartphone.
“We provide an analysis of water consumption for people who want to know how much they are using,” Booysen said.
A few months ago after the pilot project started at Laerskool Stellenbosch their water consumption dropped from 35kl/ day to 11kl/day.
The information is made available on a web app that provides daily reports and notifications regarding consumption.
“This device then enables us to inform them regarding any unexpected events such as leaks or a burst pipe that needs to be fixed,” he said.
Booysen said the system could also be used by households.