#WaterCrisis: What Level 6 restrictions mean in practice
According to level 6 restrictions, no irrigation with municipal drinking water is allowed. This includes the watering of gardens, sports fields, golf courses, nurseries, parks and other open spaces.
The use of borehole water for outdoor purposes, including irrigating and topping up swimming pools, is strongly discouraged in order to preserve groundwater resources.
Borehole water should rather be used for toilet flushing. All boreholes and well points must be registered with the city and must display the official City of Cape Town signage clearly visible from a public thoroughfare.
All properties where alternative, non-drinking water resources are used (including rainwater harvesting, grey water, treated effluent water and spring water) must display signage to this effect clearly visible from a public thoroughfare; no topping up (manual or 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 is allowed. This applies to all, including formal and informal car washes; no washing or hosing down of hard-surfaced or paved areas with municipal drinking water is allowed.
Abattoirs, food-processing industries, care facilities, animal shelters and other industries or facilities with special needs (health/safety-related only) must apply for exemption.
The use of municipal drinking water for ornamental water fountains or water features is prohibited; all residents are restricted to no more than 87.5 litres of municipal drinking water per person per day. A residential property with four occupants is expected to use at most 10 500 litres per month.
Single residential properties consuming more than 10 500 litres of municipal drinking water per month will be prioritised for enforcement.
You are encouraged to flush toilets (for example, manually using a bucket) with grey water, rainwater or other non-drinking water.
All agricultural users must ensure that their monthly consumption of municipal drinking water is reduced by 60%; the operation of spray parks is prohibited; no new landscaping or sports fields may be established, except if irrigated only with non-drinking water.
For users supplied with water in terms of special contracts (notarial deeds, water service intermediaries or water service providers), the contract conditions shall apply.
jason.felix@inl.co.za
Cape Argus