City of Cape Town Relaxes Water Restrictions as Dam Levels Rise

City of Cape Town Relaxes Water Restrictions as Dam Levels Rise

by Shannon De Kock November 30, 2018

Relaxation of water restrictions.

Keeping in mind there is a long summer still ahead, the good news is that dams supplying Cape Town are at 71% capacity, compared with 36% a year ago. As a result, the City of Cape Town will relax water restrictions as of Saturday, 1 December 2018.

Residents will now be allowed to use 105 litres a day, per person. This is up from the 70 litres a day previously. Before 1 October, residents were restricted to just 50 litres a day and employed methods as seen in this infographic:

Despite the restrictions over the last year, residents are in positive spirits, rallying together in social media groups and sharing innovative water-saving ideas. It seems only tourists may have been discouraged by the drought with a certain hospitality company reporting a 10% - 14% decrease in occupancy from the previous year.

Cape Town even received an award by the International Water Association for being the first city in the world to reduce its water consumption by 50% in just three years. Melbourne, Australia took 12 years to reach this goal previously.

The drought has not kept everyone away, some tourists still enjoyed the beautiful Cape Town. Hear what tourists who visited at the height of the drought had to say:

While locals are encouraged to keep their water-saving habits, no doubt the City of Cape Town hopes that the new limit will further encourage tourists and South Africans to enjoy Cape Town this summer season.

For a list of fun things to do in Cape Town, see our blog posts:

Visiting Cape Town: Food Experiences

Top 5 Wine Bars To Visit in Stellenbosch (Western Cape, South Africa)

Photo Diary: Kayaking in Cape Town (Western Cape, South Africa)


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Shannon De Kock
Shannon De Kock

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