Cape Town
South Africa
South Africa
Water By-law, 2010
- Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette 6847 on 18 February 2011
- Commenced on 18 February 2011
- [This is the version of this document from 20 July 2018 and includes any amendments published up to 24 March 2025.]
- [Amended by Water By-law: Amendment on 20 July 2018]
Preamble
WHEREAS section 156(2) and (5) of the Constitution provides that a municipality may make and administer by-laws for the effective administration of the matters which it has the right to administer, and to exercise any power concerning a matter reasonably necessary for, or incidental to, the effective performance of its functions;AND WHEREAS Part B of Schedule 4 to the Constitution lists water and sanitation services limited to potable water supply systems and domestic waste-water and sewage disposal systems as a local government matter to the extent set out in section 155(6)(a) and (7);AND WHEREAS the City of Cape Town seeks to ensure the control and regulation of water services within its area of jurisdiction.BE IT ENACTED by the Council of the City of Cape Town, as follows:−Chapter 1
Definitions and general provisions
1. Definitions
In this By-law, unless the context indicates otherwise—“alternative water” means water sourced from a supply other than municipal drinking water, including; -(a)grey water,(b)rainwater,(c)treated effluent;(d)surface water including sea water; and(e)water from a borehole, well, well-point or spring;[definition of “alternative water” added by section 1(a) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“associated protective devices” means the safety devices that forms part of the hot water cylinder installations which prevents excessive temperatures or pressures within the system;[definition of “associated protective devices” added by section 1(a) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“authorized official” means an employee of the City responsible for carrying out any duty or function or exercising any power in terms of this By-law and includes employees delegated to carry out or exercise such duties, functions or powers;[definition of “authorized official” substituted by section 1(b) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“basic water supply” means the minimum standards of water supply services necessary for the reliable supply of water to households to support life and personal hygiene prescribed in terms of the Water Services Act, 1997 (Act No. 108 of 1997);“borehole” means a hole sunk into the earth for the purpose of locating, abstracting or using subterranean water, and includes a spring, well and well-point;“City” means the City of Cape Town, a municipality established by the City of Cape Town Establishment Notice No. 479 of 22 September 2000, issued in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, or any structure or employee of the City acting in terms of delegated authority;[definition of “City” substituted by section 1(c) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“City Manager” means a person appointed by the Council as municipal manager in terms of section 82 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998);“connection pipe” means a pipe, the ownership of which is vested in the City and installed by it for the purpose of conveying water from a main to a water installation, and includes a “communication pipe” referred to in SANS 10252: 2004 Part 1;“consumer” means any person using water from any installation connected to a connection pipe which is supplied with water from a main;“Council” means the Municipal Council of the City;[definition of “Council” substituted by section 1(d) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“Credit Control and Debt Collection By-Law” means the City of Cape Town: Credit Control and Debt Collection By-law, 2006;“domestic purposes” in relation to the supply of water means water supplied for drinking, ablution and culinary purposes;[definition of “domestic purposes” substituted by section 1(e) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“Director” means an employee responsible for water and sanitation in the City;[The word “Director” was substituted by the words “authorized official” by section 2 of the Amendment By-law, 2018, except in sections 3(2), 5, 7, 31, 36 (1) and 46A. This definition has been left as is.]“health nuisance” means a situation or state of affairs that endangers life or health, or adversely affects the well-being or mental well-being of a person or community, or creates an environmental risk, and “health hazard” has a corresponding meaning;“industry best practice norms” means recycling and re-using a minimum of 50% of the water used;[definition of “industry best practice norms” inserted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“installation work” means work in respect of the construction of, or carried out on, a water installation;“main” means a pipe, other than a communication pipe, the ownership of which is vested in the City and used by it for the purpose of conveying water to consumers;“meter” means a device installed and maintained by the City which measures the quantity of water passing through as contemplated in the Trade Metrology Act, 1973 (Act No. 77 of 1973) as amended;[definition of “meter” substituted by section 1(g) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“new development” refers to land development for commercial, industrial or housing purposes including sectional title, single title cluster, gated villages, block of flats, etc excluding stand-alone households;[definition of “new development” inserted by section 1(h) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“occupier” means a person who occupies any premises or part thereof, without regard to the title under which he or she occupies;“organ of state” means an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the Constitution;“owner” means—(a)the person in whom from time to time is vested the legal title to premises;(b)in a case where the person in whom the legal title to premises is vested is insolvent or dead, or is under any form of legal disability whatsoever, the person in whom the administration and control of such premises is vested as curator, trustee, executor, administrator, judicial manager, liquidator or other legal representative;(c)in any case where the Council is unable to determine the identity of such person, a person who is entitled to the benefit of the use of such premises or a building or buildings thereon;(d)in the case of premises for which a lease agreement of 10 years or longer has been entered into and registered in the Deeds Office, the lessee thereof;(e)the person who has purchased immovable property from the City, in terms of a scheme that allows for the purchase price to be paid in installments and who has not received transfer from the City;(f)in relation to—(i)a piece of land delineated on a sectional plan registered in terms of the Sectional Titles Act, 1986 (Act No. 95 of 1986), the developer or the body corporate in respect of the common property; or(ii)a section as defined in the Sectional Titles Act, the person in whose name such section is registered under a sectional title deed, and includes the lawfully appointed agent of such a person;“person” includes a juristic person and any organ of state;“plumbing components” means any fitment, pipe, fitting, meter, or any other part of a plumbing installation or water services infra-structure that is used to convey water;[definition of “plumbing components” inserted by section 1(i) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“pollution” means the direct or indirect alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of a water resource so as to make it—(a)less fit for any beneficial purpose for which it may reasonably be expected to be used; or(b)harmful or potentially harmful—(i)to the welfare, health or safety of human beings;(ii)to any aquatic or no-aquatic organisms;(iii)to the resource quality; or(iv)to property;“prepayment meter” means a City meter that can be programmed to allow the flow of a pre-purchased volume of water to the customer;[definition of “prepayment meter” inserted by section 1(j) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“prescribed charge” means a fee, charge or tariff determined and imposed by the Council in terms of the Tariff By-law;[definition of “prescribed charge” inserted by section 1(j) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“private sub-meter” means a device owned, installed and maintained by a person other than the City which measures the quantity of water passing through as contemplated in the Trade Metrology Act, 1973 (Act No. 77 of 1973) as amended;[definition of “private sub-meter” inserted by section 1(j) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“public notice” means a notice published in a newspaper in three official languages of the City;“publish” means—(a)to publish a notice in the Provincial Gazette;(b)to provide interested parties with copies of such publication; and(c)to post the notice so published on the notice boards of the City;[definition of “prescribed charge” deleted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“registered plumber” means a plumber registered with the City in terms of section 46A;[definition of “registered plumber” inserted by section 1(l) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“SABS” means the South African Bureau of Standards referred to in the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No. 29 of 1993);“SANS” means a standard which has been set and issued by the SABS in terms of the provisions of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No. 29 of 1993);“service pipe” means a pipe which is part of a water installation and is installed between the communication pipe and the meter;“storage tank” means a tank forming part of a water installation and used for the storage of water, other than a cistern serving a water-closet pan or a urinal and a tank used for the storage of hot water;“tamper” includes to alter, cut, disturb, interfere with, interrupt, manipulate, obstruct, remove or uproot by any means, method or device;[definition of “tamper” inserted by section 1(m) of the Amendment By-law, 2018]“Tariff By-law” means the City of Cape Town: Tariff By-law, 2007;“terminal water fitting” means a water fitting at an outlet of a water installation which controls the discharge of water from a water installation;“water” means potable water unless otherwise stated;“water conservation” means the act of saving or using water in an efficient manner;“water installation” means the pipes and water fittings which are situated on any premises and vested in the owner thereof and used or intended to be used in connection with the use of water on such premises, and includes—(a)a pipe and water fitting situated outside the boundary of the premises, which either connects to the communication pipe relating to such premises or is otherwise laid with the permission of the City; and(b)a “consumer installation” as defined in section 1 of the Water Services Act, 1997 (Act No. 108 of 1997);“water management device” means a device that controls the quantity of water flowing through a water meter over a certain time period;“water services” means “water services” as defined in section 1 of the Water Services Act, 1997 (Act No. 108 of 1997), and includes the abstraction, conveyance, treatment and distribution of potable water, water intended to be converted to potable water or water for commercial and industrial use;“water services facility” means any land on which there is infrastructure installed or used by the City, or a catchment area in connection with the supply of water;“water services intermediary” means any person who is obliged to provide water services to another in terms of a contract where the obligation to provide water services is incidental to the main object of that contract;“water supply system” means the structures, aqueducts, pipes, valves, pumps, meters or other apparatus relating thereto, which are vested in the City and are used or intended to be used by it in connection with the supply of water, and includes any part of the system; and“well-point” means a small diameter pipe jetted into unconsolidated sandy or gravelly formations, with a pump situated at ground level to lift and distribute the water.2. Application and purpose
3. Powers of the authorized official
4. Service levels
5. Delegation
The Director or an authorized official may, subject to the approval of the Director, delegate any of his or her powers or assign any of his or her duties conferred or imposed on him or her by this By-law to any other official of the City.6. Entry upon water services facilities
A person who enters upon a water services facility must comply with any instruction of the authorized official for use and conditions of entry to the site displayed by means of a notice at the entrance.7. Imminent emergencies and situations that require immediate action
8. Duties of the public
9. Recovery of costs
10. Compliance notices
11. [section 11 repealed by section 5 of the Amendment By-law, 2018]
Chapter 2
Provisions relating to the supply of water
12. Unauthorized use of water
13. Application for supply of water
14. Transfer of ownership
15. Special agreements for supply of water
16. Pipes in streets or public places
No person may, for the purpose of conveying water derived from whatever source, lay or construct a pipe or associated component on, in or under a street, public place or other land owned by or under the control of the City, except with the prior written permission of the authorized official, subject to such conditions as he or she may impose and any other applicable law.17. Fees
All fees payable and related to the supply of water by the City must be in accordance with the Tariff By-law.18. Termination of agreements
19. Interference with the water supply
No person unless authorized by the City in terms of this By-law may—20. Obstruction of access to the water supply system
No person may prevent or restrict the access of officials of the City to the water supply system.21. Provision of communication pipe
22. Interconnection between premises
An owner of premises must ensure that no interconnection exists between the water installation on the premises and the water installation on other premises, unless the owner has obtained the prior written consent of the authorized official and has complied with any conditions imposed by the authorized official.23. Provision and position of isolating valves
24. General conditions of supply
25. Restriction or cutting-off of supply
26. Interruption of supply at owner’s request
27. Removal of water connection
The authorized official may disconnect a water installation from the communication pipe and remove the communication pipe if the-28. Metering of water supplied
29. Quantity of water supplied
30. Water supplied from municipal hydrants
31. Resale of water
32. Defective meters
33. Estimation of quantity of water supplied to consumer through defective meter
34. Adjustment of quantity of water supplied if meter is defective
35. Special measurement
Chapter 3
Water restrictions and water conservation
36. Water restrictions
37. Wastage of water
38. Water conservation and demand management
Any owner or consumer must comply with the good water conservation and demand management practices as set out in Schedule 1.Chapter 4
Water services intermediaries
39. ...
[section (39) deleted by section 20 of the Amendment By-law, 2018]40. ...
[section (40) deleted by section 20 of the Amendment By-law, 2018]41. ...
[section (41) deleted by section 20 of the Amendment By-law, 2018]Chapter 5
Plans approval
42. Plans approval procedure
43. Extension of period of approval
The authorized official may, from time to time on written application by the owner, prior to the expiry of the original period concerned and subject to payment of the prescribed charge, extend the period of validity of approval given in terms of section 42 for a period not exceeding 12 months at a time and subject to such conditions as he or she may deem fit.44. Drawings
45. Copies of drawings to be kept on site
Until the authorized official is in receipt of the certificate of approval for newly completed or altered water installations, submitted in terms of section 48, a complete set of approved drawings of the installation work must at all times be available at the site of the work.[section 45 substituted by section 23 of the Amendment By-law, 2018]46. Unauthorised work
If installation work has been done in contravention of section 42, the authorized official may by written notice, require the owner of the premises concerned to comply with that section within a specified period, and if work is in progress, to cease the work, and may further require the owner to remove all such work which does not comply with this By-law.46A. Registration and cancellation of registration of plumbers
46B. Responsibilities of a registered plumber
Every registered plumber must -Chapter 6
Installation by plumbers
47. Persons permitted to do installation and other
48. Responsibilities of a property owner
Chapter 7
Disinfection
49. Disinfection of water installations including storage tanks
Chapter 8
General water installation requirements
50. Provision and maintenance of water installations
51. Accepted pipes and water fittings
52. Design criteria for water installations
53. Storage tanks
54. Prevention of pollution of water
Chapter 9
Fire installations
55. Fire installations
Chapter 10
Miscellaneous provisions
56. Use of water from sources other than the municipal water supply
57. Wells, boreholes, wellpoints and excavations
Every owner of premises must ensure that any well, borehole, well-point, installation relating to alternative water or any other excavation relating thereto located on his or her premises—58. Notice of the sinking or digging of boreholes, wells and wellpoints
59. Supply of non-potable water by the city
60. Disclaimer in respect of non-potable water quality
61. Warning notices
62. Irrigation systems
Where a new irrigation system, which is to be supplied from an existing domestic connection or another existing irrigation connection, is installed—63. Appeals
A person whose rights are affected by a decision taken in terms of a power or duty delegated or sub-delegated in terms of this By-law, may appeal against that decision in accordance with section 62 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 ( Act No. 32 of 2000).[section 63 substituted by section 39 of the Amendment By-law, 2018]64. Offences and penalties
Subject to section 36(7), any person who—65. Exemption from liability
The City shall not be liable for damages or compensation arising from anything lawfully done in good faith by it or any official or employee thereof in terms of this By-law.66. Repeal
The City of Cape Town: Water By-law, 2006 is hereby repealed.67. Short title
This By-law is called the City of Cape Town: Water By-law, 2010.History of this document
20 July 2018 this version
Amended by
Water: Amendment
18 February 2011
Cited documents 9
Act 9
1. | Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 | 12624 citations |
2. | Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 | 4654 citations |
3. | Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 | 4521 citations |
4. | Sectional Titles Act, 1986 | 1346 citations |
5. | Disaster Management Act, 2002 | 1252 citations |
6. | National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, 1977 | 1116 citations |
7. | National Water Act, 1998 | 890 citations |
8. | Water Services Act, 1997 | 494 citations |
9. | National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 | 352 citations |