Cape Town – The City of Cape Town has closed its extended comment window for the Water Amendment By-law, after it was opened for a second round of comments.
Xanthea Limberg, the City's mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services, and energy on Thursday said the submissions would be studied over the next two months.
The public, who are in the midst of a water crisis, will be kept informed of developments.
"Given that there has been a fair amount of misinformation being shared among residents on various social media platforms, the City would like to remind the public that the proposed amendments are necessary to reflect and support the needs of the new normal in which we find ourselves," Limberg said in a statement.
"These changes have not been proposed as a means to control or restrict what residents are doing to save water, but rather to put measures in place that support these interventions in a manner that protects public health, ensuring we are a more water efficient society going forward and that our built environment supports our broader efforts to live more sustainably," she said.
The by-law will propose that new buildings, including apartment blocks and commercial and industrial buildings, should provide alternative water systems for toilet flushing and laundry.
Further, households with rainwater tanks that are used for irrigation or outdoor use, require no approval or notification.
Limberg said the amended by-law would expand on and encourage alternative water uses in Cape Town.
Other proposals include plumbers being properly qualified according to the national qualifications framework, and notifying the City when a geyser is replaced.
