The City of Cape Town’s daily water usage has been 18 million litres over the target for the past few days.
Also read: Western Cape residents should use water sparingly to prevent a drought
While the City reports that its dam levels are at 89.4% as of 2 January, volumes have decreased by 1.8% in just the last week. This time last year, dam levels were at 69.7%.
The average water use over the past week has been 968 million litres per day (MLD), which is higher than its current target of 950 MLD. According to the City, this target is set to keep dams and reservoirs fuller for longer.
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The City reminds residents that permanent water-saving regulations remain in place in terms of the water by-law. These regulations can be accessed here.
The City provided the following tips to save water:
Saving water in the home:
- The maximum flow rate of new and replaced showerheads may not exceed seven litres per minute.
- The maximum flow rate of any washbasin tap may not exceed 6 litres per minute.
- New or replaced toilet cisterns may not exceed 6 litres in capacity.
Saving water outside:
- No hosing down of hard-surfaced or paved areas with municipal drinking water is allowed.
- Hosepipes must be fitted with a controlling device, such as a spray nozzle or automatic
self-closing device. - Watering is only allowed before 9am or after 6pm (to avoid evaporation losses in the heat of the day).
- Alternative water sources, such as boreholes and well-point water, must be used sparingly and efficiently.
- All swimming pools must be covered by a pool cover to avoid evaporation when not in use.
- Automatic top-up systems using a float valve fed from a municipal drinking water source to supply swimming pools and garden ponds are not allowed.
Saving water in your business or organisation:
- Handwash basins and showers at public facilities must be fitted with demand-type taps.
- Commercial car washes must comply with industry best-practice norms (eg, recycling and re-using a minimum of 50% of the water used).
- Municipal drinking water may not be used to dampen building sand and other building materials at construction sites.
- Replace automatic flushing urinals. If they cannot be replaced, turn off the water after hours and over weekends.
- Ensure that toilet flush valves flush for no more than four seconds and urinals for no more than eight seconds.
- Do regular water audits to find out which areas of your business are using most of your water and to measure the effectiveness of your water-saving measures.
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Significant increase in water and sewer pipe replacements last month
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