City of Cape Town Water Restrictions

Level 1 water restrictions were first introduced on 1 November 2005 when Cape Town (and many other parts of South Africa) experienced severe water shortages. These water restrictions are still in force, the only change that has been made is that the period allowed for watering gardens, etc have been increased by 1 hour. The November 2005 restrictions can be viewed in the attached document (please note that the first restriction still reflects the old watering times – the correct times are given below).

Summary of Water Restrictions
The following is a summary of the water restrictions currently in force as they apply to our circumstances in Royal Ascot. Please note that the use of borehole water is not subject to these restrictions.
1.	Gardens, parks or any other grassed areas may NOT be watered between the hours of 10h00 and 16h00.
2.	Sprinklers may be used. If a hose is used it may not be left unattended unless fitted with an automatic self-closing device.
3.	Hard-surfaced or paved areas may not be hosed down with potable water.
4.	Vehicles should preferably be washed with water from a bucket; if a hose is used it must be fitted with an automatic self-closing device.

Water use in Royal Ascot
It has been noticed that in the public areas of a number of precincts as well as on private properties, gardens are being watered between 10am and 4pm. This is in contravention of a Council by-law and Trustees and home-owners can be fined.
Contraventions can be reported to the City’s 24 hour number: 0860 10 30 54.
The City also recommends that gardens and lawns should be watered for an hour or less on no more than three days a week. The time of watering can be reduced drastically depending on soil conditions. In sandy quick-draining soils, a full hour’s watering could be required, but in clayey soils which retain water, this can be reduced to as little as 20 minutes. In Royal Ascot we have a mixture of soils – in some areas very sandy, in others quite a lot of clay (our soils in the residential areas are mostly fill that was brought in prior to development). But underneath it all are ferricrete layers that prevents water from draining quickly – this means that the water table in this area is fairly shallow, in areas only about 1,5m below the surface in summer, and about 0,5m in winter.
Another important fact that gardeners should consider is that watering during the heat of the day is not only extremely wasteful (up to 70% of the water can be lost to evaporation before it is absorbed by plants); but broadleafed plants in particular can be severely damaged by water droplets concentrating the sun’s rays and burning spots on the foliage.