The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Department is embarking on a voluntary re-registration of boreholes and wellpoints as part of its ongoing compliance, monitoring and research programmes.

To provide a more accessible service to owners of wellpoints and boreholes, officials from the department will be available over the next few weeks at the following venues to take registrations:

• 22 June 09:00-14:00 - Longbeach Shopping Centre, Cnr Buller Louw and Sunnydale Road, Noordhoek
  
• 11-13 July, 09:00-14:00 - Pinelands Training Centre, St. Stephens Road, Central Square
  
• 2-6 & 16-20 July 09:00-14:00 - Fish Hoek Municipal Cash Office, Recreation Road
  
• 1-3 August 09:00-14:00 - Constantia Municipal Office, Alphen Centre
  
• 15-17 August 09:00-14:00 - Strand Municipal Office, Cnr Fagan Str and Main Rd
  
• 22-24 August 09:00-14:00 - Somerset West Municipal Office, Cnr Andries Pretorius and Victoria Road
  
• 29-31 August 09:00-14:00 - Milnerton Library, Pienaar Road
  
  

Residents simply need to visit one of the above-mentioned venues closest to their place of residence with the following information at hand:

• Name
  
• Address
  
• Erf No
  
• Whether they own a borehole or wellpoint
  
• The preferred name to appear on the certificate
  
  

Residents will then receive a new sign free of charge as well as a Certificate of Appreciation, in the name of their choice for registering.

“It must be stressed that this information is strictly for environmental monitoring and research purposes and members of the public will be participating on a voluntary basis. Specific erven will be registered, not the property owners or occupiers themselves. This is not a revenue or billing exercise and owners or occupiers will not be billed for their borehole or wellpoint water usage or the ownership of a borehole or wellpoint,” says the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services, Councillor Shehaam Sims.

Residents can also e-mail or call Nina Viljoen on Tel: 021 400 9964; E-mail: nina.viljoen@capetown.gov.za or Sylvia Nkubu on Tel: 021 400 9966, E-mail: sylvia.nkubu@capetown.gov.za with the information as mentioned above.

The Department’s Water Inspectors will then deliver the signs and certificates to the property owners at no charge and will also conduct a quick inspection of the borehole/wellpoint to make sure that the water used on the property is indeed coming from the groundwater resource. This is necessary in order to avoid the issuing of fines to persons irrigating with groundwater outside of the prescribed watering times.

The sign indicating the presence of a borehole/wellpoint should be placed in a position that is clearly visible from the outside of the property, so that law enforcement officers can tell that a borehole/wellpoint is being used when they enforce the City’s Water By-Law.

Although borehole/wellpoint water users are not compelled to comply with the water restrictions relating to watering times as per the City’s Water By-Law, they are urged to please assist the City in preserving this precious resource.

During the hot, dry season our precious groundwater resource can actually temporarily dry up and the City appeals to groundwater users to strictly comply with the watering times, i.e. no watering between the hours of 10:00 and 16:00 on any day of the week.

“The City calls on all borehole/wellpoint owners to please register voluntarily as part of this process and receive their new updated borehole/wellpoint signs along with their Certificates of Appreciation ,” said Councillor Sims.