Non-indigent households also struggling to limit water usage, pay high bills

Cape Town – Lobby group Stop CoCT has questioned the City’s apparent ignorance of the plight of pensioners and other non-indigent, low-income households and the disabled in its looming removal of water-restricting devices.

The group said some of these households had the same difficulties as the indigent, and battled to pay their water bills, while maybe falling short of the indigent criteria by a narrow margin.

This as the City said it would start implementing its revised approach to domestic metering – which encourages residents to manage their own water usage – next week.

The City said the more than 251 524 registered indigent households would receive up to 15 000 litres of water and the related 70% calculated for sanitation, at no charge per month from July 1. The City said it would also assist with a once-off fixing of leaks on the properties of indigent people.

The City said if water usage at a residential property was higher than 15 000 litres a month for two consecutive months, a warning letter would be sent for the usage to be lowered to required levels. Should such usage persist, a warning would be issued and a flow-restricting disc inserted to limit water supply to a trickle flow.

Sandra Dickson of Stop CoCT said the City’s gesture of switching restricted water flow in indigent households to free flow had a double edge.

“The City acknowledges its policy to restrict the water supply of indigent households is both inhumane as well as inadequate for large households. On the other hand, the City now expects these households to ’manage’ their own water usage,“she said.

Dickson said the City did not say how this free water and sanitation would be reflected in their billing system.

“Will this lost revenue still show up as ‘bad debt’ to be written off in future years? Similar to what is happening now, with the R4 billion the City allegedly wrote off in 2021.”

Mayco member for water and waste Xanthea Limberg said residential property owners with tenants (including landlords with backyard tenants) should pay close attention to collective/ overall water usage on their property, and ensure it remained below the approved limit.

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