Cape Town clampdown

ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS De Lille says more can be done to prevent the taps from running dry.

Residents of Cape Town will be hit by level 6 water restrictions from the new year to avoid running out of the scant resource. About 200 000 households are using more than 10 500 litres a day and could be fitted with a water management device, the City of Cape Town said in a statement yesterday.

City spokesperson Zara Nicholson said the new water restrictions would help to avoid “Day Zero”, when taps run completely dry.

“The implementation of the latest water restrictions for the Western Cape water supply system follows the directive by the National Department of Water and Sanitation requiring urban users to reduce their water usage by 45%, and agricultural users to reduce consumption by 60%,” Nicholson said.

The daily water usage limit will stay at 87 litres per person per day.

Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille said households with high consumption were using between 670 to 1 500 litres of water a day.

“With the average household size in Cape Town closer to three people, much can still be done to ensure that we are not queueing for water in March or April 2018. Our hot and dry summer is here. We are not going to be given many more chances to really reduce our water usage. We have to do it now,” she said.

De Lille applauded water users who had cut down their water usage, but said those who had not “continue to place us all in danger”.

The new restrictions discourage the use of borehole water in a bid to preserve groundwater resources. – ANA