Tightening the taps

Level 6 water restrictions take effect in Cape Town on Monday, and the city council says all 200 000 households that use more than 10 500 litres a month run the risk of having a management device fitted to limit them to this amount.

The council’s latest estimate for “day zero”, when residents will have to collect their allocated 25 litres a day from distribution points guarded by soldiers, is April 29, but that could come forward sharply if festive season consumption was excessive.