Level 4b water restrictions coming

THE City of Cape Town is preparing for the imminent implementation of further intensified water restrictions.

The envisaged Level 4b restrictions would adjust the water usage target downwards to 500 million litres of collective water use a day.

This comes as dam levels remain critically low, rainfall uncertainty great and consumption levels still too high considering the need to start building reserves for the expected tough summer ahead.

Yesterday, dam storage levels were at 24.5%.

With the last 10% of a dam’s water mostly not being usable, dam levels are effectively at 14.5%. Consumption is 630 million litres a day.

This is 30 million litres above the current usage target of 600 million litres a day.

The City requests consumers to start moving towards the target of 500 million litres, irrespective of whether Level 4b restrictions have been formally implemented or not, by ensuring that all water users use less than 100 litres of water a person a day in total, whether at home, work or elsewhere.

It is incredibly important that we focus on building our reserves at the moment.

The danger does exist that we will start exceeding our water usage target due to the cooler conditions and rainfall.

As we do not know how rainfall will pan out, we need to make sure we save water while we have it.

I know that many of us are indeed doing everything in our power to use less water and I know it’s difficult to keep on saving water, especially when the rain falls and the temperature drops, but we cannot afford to let our guard down.

We must continue to use less than 100 litres of water a person a day in total, whether we’re at home, work, school or elsewhere.

It may take a few seasons of normal rainfall for the dams to recover and we must bear in mind that we are expecting an even tougher summer in 2018.

Residents can contact the City via e-mail 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 they can send an SMS to 31373.

For further information on how to adhere to the less than 100-litre usage requirement, residents should please visit the water restrictions page on the City’s website: www.capetown.gov.za/ thinkwater. Councillor Xanthea Limberg Mayco member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, City of Cape Town