Cape Town at level 6 Water Restrictions – and Level 6B Water Restrictions from 01 Feb 2018
Please familiarise yourself with the dire situation by reviewing the following Time Article posted on 15 January 2018 – http://time.com/5103259/cape-town-water-crisis/
How it affects you
As of the beginning of July 2017, Cape Town and surrounds has been put on level 5 water restrictions. This is regardless of the rain which has recently fallen over the region. We are still well below the normal winter rainfall for the year and our damns are on average below 15-20% full. The situation is serious and we all need to start paying attention. The level 4B restrictions reduces water use to an average of 87 litres per person per day. Considering it takes approximately 12 litres of water to flush a toilet, this is not very much at all.
As such providing amenities such as jacuzzis and pools may no longer be possible. Please bear in mind that we are now choosing between being able to swim OR drink and there is only one choice there.
Please read this article and watch the short video on what level 4B restrictions actually mean to daily living.
Please Read this article from the Cape Town Government Website
Staying at a Rental Property?
If you are staying with us at one of our properties in the next few months, please keep the following in mind:
- Pools are not be allowed to be filled to the top. We will en devour to keep the pools clean and usable, however cannot guarantee any pools due to the water crisis.
- No jacuzzis are in operation.
- Irrigation systems are not allowed, therefore grass may start to look brown and gardens won’t be as lush
- No water features at any property will be in operation
- There will be limited use of dishwashers and washing machines (but you will always have clean crockery, cutlery and linen)
- Please do your best to limit the length of your shower and avoid bathing. Be conscious of not leaving the tap running while brushing teeth or washing hands.
Calculate your Daily Water Consumption
To put things in perspective, here is an approximation of quantity of water used for normal daily duties. If level 4 restrictions are put in place, we will only be allowed 100 litres (26.4 gallons) each per day. See how quickly it adds up!
(1 Gallon = 3.8 litres)
- 5-minute shower: 10 gallons (38l)
- 5-minute power shower: 20 gallons (76l)
- Brushing teeth with tap running: 2 gallons/min (7.6l per min)
- Brushing teeth with tap off: .25 gallon (0.95l)
- One toilet flush: 3 gallons (11.4l)
- Other water use (drinking, cooking, etc.): 7 gallons (26.6l)
- Washing machine: 40 gallons (152l)
- Dishwasher: 10 gallons (38l)
To see the situation up close, please watch this 4 minute 40 sec Video which was taken of Theewaterskloof, Cape Town’s main water supply dam. It was taken prior to the recent rains, but not much has changed as the public water consumption is still above the target of 600 million litres per day.
