According to the City of Cape Town the water crisis has worsened since last week. As of today, 30 January, dam levels have dropped to approximately 39,2 %. This is
1,3 % down from a week ago. With the last 10% of a dam’s water being unusable, City supply dam levels could be seen as effectively around 29,2%.

As of today, water consumption is again above the collective water usage target of 800 million litres per day. At usage levels of 807 million litres, we are still 7 million litres above the daily water usage target, irrespective of the recent rainfall that has been experienced.

We thank those residents who are working very hard to save water. As for the 20 000 highest water users, we will be targeting these households as they need to drastically reduce consumption. Formal residential properties use 65% of the City’s water supply. There are particularly high-use areas in the metro such as in Athlone, Newlands, Newfields, Manenberg, Constantia, Lansdowne, Somerset West and Kraaifontein, among others, where some households are not doing their bit. It must, however, be emphasised that there are high water users in all suburbs across the metro.

‘The latest Council-approved water restrictions (Level 3b) will come into effect on Wednesday. These restrictions further limit the use of potable water for non-essential purposes. The key intervention remains reducing consumption,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.

The City will continue to implement its other key initiatives for water management and conservation, such as:

• more innovative water pressure management systems to reduce water leakage
• finding and repairing underground water leaks
• replacing ageing water mains
• improving response times for repairing pipe bursts
• promoting the use of treated effluent (recycled water) or borehole water instead of drinking water for irrigation purposes
• offering plumbing repairs for indigent households free of charge
• introducing the stepped tariff system of billing
• monitoring water losses from our systems
• future roll-out of water demand management devices in the future
• creating awareness for water-saving, school visits and communication

During this time of drought, the area-based Mayoral Committee Members will engage with the 20 000 high water consumers to bring culprits to book. For enquiries or to report contraventions, residents can contact the City’s call centre on 0860 103 089, send an SMS to 31373, or send an e-mail to contact.us@capetown.gov.za or water.restrictions@capetown.gov.za (evidence should be provided to assist the City’s enforcement efforts).

For further information, residents should please visit our water restrictions page on the website: www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater.