Use water sparingly
The City is urging its customers to reduce their water consumption in order to avoid level two restrictions.
FOLLOWING other Gauteng municipalities who have already implemented water restrictions, the City of Johannesburg too will be putting measures in place to curb excessive water usage in an attempt to ensure that all South Africans don’t waste water and that they use it sparingly.
As per the announcement for water restrictions due to the drought declared countrywide in November 2015, the City of Johannesburg will apply water restriction tariffs to domestic customers as of August 1. This comes after it has taken into account that South Africa is a water-scarce country, and the persistent lower-than-normal rainfall since the beginning of last year.
City spokesperson, Kgamanyane Maphologela said the City has stepped up its efforts to curb high water usage and enforce a culture of responsible usage.
“The threat of water supply is increasingly becoming a real issue for all South Africans, particularly in our country where water is a scarce resource. With the continuing high water usage, we have to find ways to introduce measures to control consumption,” said Maphologela.
The City is urging its customers to reduce their water consumption in order to avoid level two restrictions, whereby the City will apply a water restriction tariff to those who have higher water usage.
The level-two water restrictions, according to section 44 (3) of the Water Services By-law, states that all consumers are forthwith compelled:
• Not to water and irrigate their gardens from 06:00 and 18:00 every day;
• Not to fill swimming pools with municipal water; and
• Not to use hosepipes to wash cars, paved areas and so on.
Maphologela also said in the event where a level-two water restriction is implemented, the City will apply the water restriction tariff on the upward scale, starting with users using more than 20 kilolitres up to those using more than 40 kilolitres per month, with the cost increasing as the usage increases. An average household’s water usage is around 30 kilolitres.
“The message is that those who use more water, would pay more, therefore we urge customers to exercise water-saving tips,” explained Maphologela.
He said those customers who are consuming less and implementing water-saving tips won’t be affected, as every household also qualifies for a six kilolitres free water per month, which will be taken into account for all domestic customers.
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