The City of Cape Town has revealed that water consumption has gone down since it introduced Level Three water restrictions.

“The City of Cape Town is pleased to report that there has been a steady decline in the volume of water used since last week, with total consumption standing at an average of 854 million litres per day as opposed to 870 – 890 million litres in the week 14th – 21st November 2016,” the city said in a statement.

The city thanked residents for reducing consumption, but said usage was still a bit high.

“We need to ensure that consumption does not exceed 800 million litres per day and so, as a whole, we are still using too much water and thus cannot guarantee that our dams won’t be depleted to dangerous levels by the end of summer. In the last week, the dam levels have declined by 1.3%, from 55.8% to 54.5%,” it said.

The city has estimated that if residents are able to ensure that their water consumption over the coming summer months does not exceed their consumption over winter, the under-800 million litres a day target will be met.

“We would also like to encourage all residents and industrial users to continue raising awareness around the issue and reporting water wastage where they see it. We are far from out of the woods but if we are able to maintain a sustained collective focus on the issue, this should result in us meeting our targets before too long,” said MMC for Utility Services, Ernest Sonnenberg.

[Image – CC Marina Shemesh]