150k Cape Town households use less than 6000L per month

It took a while, but finally the City of Cape Town knows just how much water its households used in January.

Prior to Level 6A water shedding was implemented in February 2018, consumers were allocated 87 litres of water per day per person. As a result, households containing four occupants were urged to use less than 10 500 litres per day. The latest data reveals just how many households adhered to this figure.

“[D]uring January, a total of 314 000 households stepped up to the plate with their water-saving efforts and that 154 000 of these water heroes achieved the dark green status for using less than 6 kl per month,” the City notes in a press release.

This was a 5% increase in households actively decreasing their water consumption during this period when compared to December 2017.

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“This is despite a higher than average number of estimations last month due to technical challenges in uploading the meter readings onto a new system,” the City continues. “Those households who managed to reduce their consumption even further are to be congratulated.”

Notably, water consumption from Cape Town’s 14 dams is still well above of the City’s 450-million litres per day target. However, Day Zero is now set to take place on 15 July — pushed back by nearly three months from its initial date in April.

Notably, with Level 6B water restrictions now in place, households containing seven occupants are now urged to use less than 10 500 litres per month. “A four-person household should have consumption of less than 6 000 litres,” the City adds.

The City of Cape Town has updated its Water Map with the latest data. View it, and original story on the water map itself, here.