As of 1 January 2018 the city of Cape Town has implemented Level 6 water restrictions. You might be wondering what this means for you.
New regulations to follow
- No watering/irrigation with municipal drinking water allowed.
- The use of borehole/wellpoint water for outdoor purposes is strongly discouraged in order to preserve groundwater resources. Borehole/wellpoint water should rather be used for toilet flushing.
- No topping up (manual/automatic) filling or refilling of swimming pools with municipal drinking water is allowed, even if fitted with a pool cover.
- The use of portable or any temporary play pools is prohibited.
- No washing of vehicles with municipal drinking water allowed.
- No washing or hosing down of hard-surfaced or paved areas with municipal drinking water allowed.
- The use of municipal drinking water for ornamental water fountains or water features is prohibited.
- All residents and visitors are required to use no more than 87 litres of municipal drinking water per person per day in total irrespective of whether you are at home, work or elsewhere.
- The operation of spray parks is prohibited.
- No bathing.
Any persons who fail to comply to these regulations are subject to fines.
How this may affect your stay
- The swimming pool may be out of use.
- Jacuzzi's and Hot tubs will not be operational.
- Gardens may be dry and unkept.
- Water pressure may be lowered by the City of Cape Town to reduce usage.
- Bath plugs may be removed from the property.
Tips to lower your water usage and wastage
- Shower with a bucket.
- Limit your shower to 2 minutes. Here are some great songs by local artists who have edited some of their songs to 2 minutes so you can still sing in the shower.
- If you're waiting for water to get hot, put a bucket under the faucet to catch the cold water.
- Flush your toilet with grey water.
- Only flush the toilet when necessary. "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."
- Use grey water to clean your floors.
- Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. Keep a cup with water in to rinse and discard the water into a grey water bucket.
- Empty your dish water into a grey water bucket.
- Wait for a full load before doing a clothes wash.
- Hand wash rather than using a washing machine.
- Use hand sanitiser instead of washing your hands.
Let's all work together to keep Cape Town taps running.
