The City of Cape Town has implemented level 5 water restrictions following an announcement by executive Mayor Patricia de Lille on Sunday.

In a statement, the mayor said the upper limit of 87 litres per person and the overall target of 500 million litres per day of collective consumptions remain in place, however, there is now a new emphasis on capping excessive water use at the domestic household level and placing additional restrictions on the commercial sector.

“Notwithstanding the immense effort that many Capetonians have taken to reduce water consumption during the last year, there needs to be a further decrease in consumption if Cape Town is to safely navigate itself through the drought,” De Lille explained.

Cracking down on commercial water consumption

While all categories of users have shown a trend towards decreased consumption over the last year the commercial property category, which includes, offices and small business, has not. “The managers of commercial properties must with immediate effect ensure that their monthly consumption of the municipal supply of water is reduced by 20% compared with a year ago.”

De Lille said the city acknowledges that there are some commercial properties that have made great strides to reduce consumption of municipal water and their efforts to install improved water management technologies will be taken into account when considering any enforcement measures against the owners of commercial properties in the future.

“This measure is not intended to negatively impact business operations, but is to ensure sustainability of the commercial sector by bringing about the necessary behavioural changes and mind-set to adapt to the New Normal,” De Lille said.

She added, “We are appealing to businesses to promote water-saving habits among staff and facility managers.”