Cape Town water hogs identified - days are numbered

Some households among the city’s top 20‚000 users are consuming a staggering 50‚000 litres of water a day in Cape Town.

Dam levels dipped to around 40% of capacity this week and a raft of tougher water restrictions are on the cards – subject to approval by council – on Thursday.

But the days are numbered for the city’s biggest water consumers – identified by the city as “households in formal residential areas”.

The top 20‚000 users have been identified and the “water police” are preparing to knock on their doors soon.

If education and persuasion do not convince them to change their habits‚ fines and water restriction devices will follow.

“These users have been identified following an examination of the water metering data of the City’s almost one million water customers‚” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements‚ Water and Waste Services; and Energy‚ Councillor Xanthea Limberg on Monday.

“We will be able to start communicating with these high users imminently and advise them of punitive measures that might be taken‚ such as fines for transgressions or the implementation of water restriction devices‚ if we do not start to see a 20% reduction in their usage.

“The vast majority of these high users are households in formal residential areas‚ and have been identified as consuming 50 kilolitres per day. Prior to the water restrictions coming into effect‚ the average use per household used to be well under 1‚000 litres per day or approximately 30 kilolitres per month. This gives one an idea of the severity of the use of water among these high users‚” she said.

She said there would be door-to-door visits‚ more fines issued and water restriction devices installed if usage on properties continued to be high. The initial focus would be on “education and awareness” with the involvement of peace officers‚ law enforcement officers‚ councillors‚ and area-based mayoral committee members.

“We will continue to do everything in our power to educate and to clamp down on water wasters‚” she said.