Amendments To Water By-law For Cape Town
Category Property Thought Of The Week
Towards the end of June this year, the City of Cape Town promulgated amendments to its Water By-law. These do not replace the current Level 6 water restrictions, but are in addition to present water usage rules. Many of the amendments deal with technical aspects of installations and the City’s oversight of plumbers.
From the property owner and tenant’s point of view, the following are notable:
• Landlords must record individual consumption in residential units let in a multi-tenant complex/block of flats, and inform the City of any contraventions.
• In new developments, water conservation and demand management systems, or alternative water systems, must be installed. Prior approval of the City will be necessary.
• Potable water storage tanks must be impervious to sunlight to prevent the growth of bacteria.
• No cross-connection may exist on private property between potable and non-potable water systems.
• No irrigation of gardens is allowed between 09:00 and 18:00, including from boreholes and well-points.
• Toilet cisterns and shower head flow maximum capacity has been reduced to 6 litre cisterns for toilets (was 9 litres), and water flow from shower heads is limited to 7 litres/minute (was 9.5 litres/minute). Owners need not replace these immediately if they do not conform, but when renovations or alterations are considered, the new installations must be compliant.
• All pools must be fitted with a cover to avoid evaporation when not in use.
• Where renovations trigger a building plan approval process, full details of any water conservation and demand management system or alternative water systems must accompany the building plans.
Author STBB
Published 06 Sep 2018 / Views -