City Calls for Water Savings

The City of Cape Town has called on all residents and visitors to
conserve this valuable resource whilst there is still something to be
saved.

South Africa is a water scarce country. In anticipation of projected growth and the long term effects of global warming, the City has this year passed two new by-laws which are aimed to promote permanent good water demand management habits and practices.

The Water By-law and the Wastewater and Industrial Effluent By-law were promulgated earlier this year in the Provincial Gazette and incorporate most of the restrictive measures introduced during the previous dry spells in the metropole.

Cape Town has approximately 3,2 million residents. This number is expected to grow which could burden the City's already scarce water resources.

The two new by-laws provide in short for:

• No watering of gardens between 10:00 and 16:00.
• Hosepipes must be fitted with automatic self-closing devices.
• Potable water may not be used to damp building sand and other building material to prevent it from being blown away.
• No automatic top up systems using a float valve fed from a potable water source are allowed to supply swimming pools and garden pools.
• No person may hose down a hard-surface or paved area using potable water, without prior written notice.
• No automatic cistern or tipping tank may be used for flushing a urinal.
• Major water users (using more than 3650 Kl per annum), excluding multiple dwellers' units, must undertake an annual water audit.
• Commercial car wash industries must re-cycle a minimum of 50% of the water used in their operations.
• Water closet cisterns may not exceed 9.5 litres in capacity.
• The maximum flow rate from a tap installed in a wash hand basin may not exceed 6 litres per minute.
• No person supplied with water in terms of this by-law may sell such water without prior written permission or special agreement.
• Any water wastage or pollution much be reported immediately to water services technical operations centre.

Consumers are reminded to report any water wastage, pollution and any other cases of non-compliance with the new water bylaws to the water services technical operations centre on 0860 10 30 54.

ISSUED BY:

COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
TEL: 021 400 2201
FAX: 021 957 0023

MEDIA QUERIES:

DANIE KLOPPERS
WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT
CELL: 084 590 1488
CATHERINE WILSON
TEL: 021 761 0985
CELL: 084 888 0490