Dam levels have improved by 0.9% over the last week to 70% of storage capacity and, with more rain expected the next two days, should rise even further this week.
Ensure you carry an umbrella on Tuesday because, according to the South African Weather Service, it is predicted to be the wettest day this week with around 4.80mm of rainfall.
The average water consumption for the past week declined from 526 million litres per day to 505 million litres per day, the City of Cape Town announced.
Last week the City said it would lower water restrictions and tariffs from Level 6 to Level 5 from October 1 due to the encouraging dam recovery and the ongoing conservation efforts by Capetonians.
The Department of Water had maintained that water levels could be dropped only when dam levels reach 80%, but the City decided it could not wait that long. Hopefully, should the 80% mark be reached, water restrictions and tariffs could be dropped even further.
As usage has never reached the target of 450 million under Level 6b restrictions and has hovered around 500 million litres per day, which is the target for Level 5 restrictions, the City decided to lower the restriction and tariff to Level 5.
This will provide some financial relief to water users and this should reflect in the October municipal accounts. Tariffs are based on consumption, thus lower usage leads to lower costs.
The City encouraged its water users to continue conserving water to ensure that Cape Town’s dams recover adequately for the summer months ahead.
The City reiterated Level 5 restriction don’ts:
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No watering/irrigation with municipal water is allowed. Nurseries or customers involved in agricultural activities, or those with gardens of historical significance, may apply for exemption.
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No topping up (manual or automatic) of swimming pools with municipal drinking water is allowed.
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No washing of vehicles, including cars, taxis, trailers, caravans and boats allowed with municipal drinking water.
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No washing or hosing down of hard surfaces with municipal water.
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The use of municipal drinking water for ornamental fountains or water features is prohibited.
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All private swimming pools must be fitted with a cover.
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The use of any portable or temporary play pools is prohibited.
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Should borehole/wellpoint water be used for outdoor purposes, including garden use, topping up of swimming pools and hosing down of surfaces, it should only be done for a maximum of one hour on Tuesdays and Saturdays before 9am and after 6pm.
However, the City discourages the use of this water for the following purposes to prevent the over-abstraction of aquifers.
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The operation of spray parks is prohibited.
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No new landscaping or sports fields may be established, except if irrigated only with non-drinking water.
Major dams17/9/2018Previous week% 2017Berg River97.698.262.4Steenbras Lower87.589.447.9Steenbras Upper95.899.099.9Theewaterskloof52.551.428.7Voëlvlei83.780.526.7Wemmershoek90.089.943.9Total Stored Ml628 776620 759336 541% Storage70.069.137.5