“We are now at a point where all consumers must use below 100 litres per day,” warns the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.

Dam levels are at 21,2% storage levels. With the last 10% of a dam’s water mostly not being useable, dam levels are effectively at 11,2%.

How you can save water:
• Only flush the toilet when necessary.
• Take a short 2-minute shower.
• Collect your shower, bath and basin water and re-use it to flush your toilet, and for the garden and cleaning.* Greywater use has some health and hygiene risks you must avoid. Keep hands and surface areas sanitised/disinfected.
• Defrost foods in the fridge, or naturally, rather than placing them under running water.
• Use a cup instead of running taps in the bathroom or kitchen for brushing teeth, shaving and drinking.
• 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-law. A standard non-water-saving showerhead can use as much as 16 litres per minute.
• 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-law.
• Check for leaks. One leaking toilet wastes between about 2 600 and 13 000 litres per month, depending on the flow rate of the leak. A leaking tap wastes between about 400 and 2 600 litres per month.

How to check for leaks:
• Close all taps on the property and don’t flush the toilets.
• Check and record your meter reading.
• Wait 15 minutes and record the meter reading.
• If there is a difference in your meter reading, you have a leak.