Capetonians warned that 100 liters water usage 'non-negotiable'

Cape Town – The City of Cape Town has issued out a warning to all water users in Cape Town, informing them that all water usage must be brought down by 100 million liters immediately. The warning comes after the Western Cape Premier Helen Zille officially declared the Western Cape a disaster area.

Currently dam storage levels are at 20,7% which is 0.7% down from a week ago. Water consumption remains at 93 millions which is above the consumption target of 600 million liters.

The City is pleading with users to reduce their water usage to 100 liters per person per day. The City also said that it has allocated R22 million to employ additional staff for its response teams who will be deployed to attend to water faults reported. More staff has also been deployed to deal with water management device complaints and faults.

The City’s dispatch team attend to over 800 water and sanitation complaints all in which relates to water leaks on a daily basis.

“As it pertains to the City, we continue to use all current means to drive down consumption. There are some residents in this city who have already cut their consumption down to one-third of what they used to use, but others have seemingly taken the decision that their needs are more important than anyone else’s. We will continue to crack down on those water users. Every single water user must use less than 100 litres per person per day. This is not negotiable,” the City’s Water and Waste Services Councillor Xanthea Limberg said.

The City is also continuing its large- scale pressure reduction programs across the Cape to force down water consumption. As dam levels decline, the City will also start to implement a lifeline supply which aims to reduce the water pressure at a very low level across Cape Town. the city also added that it is actively monitoring the consumption of the Top 100 residents.

Residents are reminded to use water only for drinking, washing and cooking:

· Only flush the toilet when necessary. Don’t use it as a dustbin. ‘If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down’

· Take a short two-minute shower. A standard (non-water saving) showerhead can use as much as 16 litres per minute

· Collect your shower, bath and basin water and reuse it to flush your toilet, and for the garden and cleaning (bear in mind that greywater use has some health and hygiene risks you must avoid; keep hands and surface areas sanitised/disinfected)

· Defrost food in the fridge or naturally rather than placing it under running water

· Use a cup instead of running taps in the bathroom or kitchen for brushing teeth, shaving, drinking etc.

· Wait for a full load before running washing machines and dishwashers. The rinse water from some washing machines can be reused for the next wash cycle

· Switch to an efficient showerhead which uses no more than 10 litres per minute, as per the City’s by-laws

· Upgrade to a multi-flush toilet and/or put a water displacement item in the cistern which can halve your water use per flush

· Fit taps with aerators or restrictors to reduce flow to no more than 6 litres per minute, as per the City’s by-laws