Residents should not be fooled by the recent announcement by the City that it will be charging less for water. A comparison of water tariffs between level 5 water restriction and that effective from 1 October shows a double-digit increase in water cost.
For the comparison, look at the cost of water for 6kl, 10kl and 20kl for a household with four occupants based on water tariffs for the two water restriction levels. The City announced water tariffs will be decreased from October 1 by approximately 27%, 25% and 56% for the first 6kl, the next 4.5kl and the next 24.5kl, respectively.
Water for 6kl, 10kl and 20kl using the water tariffs for level 5, would cost R127, R137 and R236, (excluding VAT) respectively. Adding to this the fixed pipe line cost of, say R56, will translate to an increase of 44%, 41% and 24%, respectively compared to the equivalent cost at level 5 water restriction. For a fixed pipe line cost of R100, the increase for the same volume of water will be 79%, 73% and 42%, respectively.
The increased cost is caused by the City continuing to enforce a fixed pipe line cost, which was not applied at level 5 water restriction. With the current average dam levels exceeding 70%, why did the City not withdraw the fixed pipe line cost?
This proves that the City’s apparent reduced water tariffs will lead to an increase in water cost compared to that of level 5 water restriction. Who is the city trying to fool?
* Adiel Ismail, Mount View.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.