Durban area Water meter flow restrictor

[Mielies!]

Does any guys in Durban know anything significant about the municipal water meters?
It seems Ethekwini water and sanitation decided to cut the water pressure to residential homes by 30-50% by restricting the water meter somehow.
Does anybody know how this is done, or better yet, how can it be Undone

[smarty]

Does any guys in Durban know anything significant about the municipal water meters?
It seems Ethekwini water and sanitation decided to cut the water pressure to residential homes by 30-50% by restricting the water meter somehow.
Does anybody know how this is done, or better yet, how can it be Undone

Mielies they cut down on the water pressure some time ago to relief the pressure on the old pipes as they kept on bursting .It had nothing to do with the meters

[Whiskey Charley Zulu]

It Amazes me that so many people does not realize the severity of the drought in KZN. I to was annoyed by the pressure reduction in Empangeni and Richardsbay so much so that I started investing in a booster pump and Jo-Jo tank and before I got to buy the tank I realized that as soon as I have my normal pressure back via my tank and pump I will go back to my old ways of using water. I was brought up on a farm and wasting water was a huge NO NO.

Now after the pressure reduction I still shower for the same amount of minutes (me and my 3y old boy shower together and SWAMBO and SWAMBO mini (7months) bath together), only difference we had to get use to is SWAMBO uses much less water in the bath and toilet wise..."if it's yellow let it mellow, If it's brown flush it down" and also when we wash hands we dont let the tap run whilst we rub the soap over.

With my pool I have redirected most my gutter down pipes to the pool and I backwash into a 220L plastic drum then a day later when the muck has settled I drain the drum into the pool from a valve situated 150mm off the bottom of the drum.

Please don't tamper with any restriction devices as it was put there for a specific reason.

PS. If the authorities do catch anybody tampering with said devices or back washing pools onto lawns or washing cars with hosepipes you WILL be in serious kakas, my neighbor got a R2000 fine for washing his car in his driveway with a hosepipe and water streaming down the street "bloody idiot"

[Mielies!]

Hi gents. Thanks for the feedback... Although I also believe in not wasting any water, I really doubt that a 30 - 50% drop in water pressure to residential properties in established areas are the way to limit water usage.
Maybe reduce the size of the geyser and limit shower times, reduce the tank size of the toilet or do physical water restrictions.

I do however agree with the Jojo tank and capturing of rain water...and in addition to this to better use some of our grey water is an even bigger and better long term solution.

Soon we will all have to become part of the solution rather than the problem, however I am not 100% convinced that established residential properties are the real problem if you see how water flows freely in our rural areas without fine and without restriction...

[plunger]

In some areas they insert a flow restrictor into your watermeter. Its a pink plastic washer with a tiny hole. it does not reduce the pressure ,it reduces the flow. These are independent contractors doing this, some with little skill. If you are lucky they will put two restrictors in at no charge and then you will hardly get any water. Often the meter will leak on your side afterwards wasting water so check your meter.

[Gungets Tuft]

As far as I know it will not be via a domestic installation but rather restricted by flow from the reservoirs between 9pm and 4am. It not going to affect most of us, perhaps your evening shower will be a pain. I don't think they're willing to actually say it, but much of this is aimed at reducing the effect of leaking pipes, where they'll leak less at night.

I think they'll only go to individual homes if they carry on using very high amounts of water.

We've gone a bit overboard. Besides having a network of storage tanks and a pump system to capture rainwater, we've also put large basins in our showers, catch the shower water and use it to flush. This just until I've redone my shower and bath wastes to separate them from the sewer pipes and get the grey water system working. Catching shower water is a pain, but we are a little fixated with reducing waste, so we just get on with it.

[plunger]

As far as I know it will not be via a domestic installation but rather restricted by flow from the reservoirs between 9pm and 4am. It not going to affect most of us, perhaps your evening shower will be a pain. I don't think they're willing to actually say it, but much of this is aimed at reducing the effect of leaking pipes, where they'll leak less at night.

I think they'll only go to individual homes if they carry on using very high amounts of water.

We've gone a bit overboard. Besides having a network of storage tanks and a pump system to capture rainwater, we've also put large basins in our showers, catch the shower water and use it to flush. This just until I've redone my shower and bath wastes to separate them from the sewer pipes and get the grey water system working. Catching shower water is a pain, but we are a little fixated with reducing waste, so we just get on with it.

i think if they shut water off at night it makes sense. In umdloti they have put in restrictors. Some households and buildings dont get water if they are on the highest point or furthest point.
lets hope they dont punish us by enforcing a 15% water reduction based on your meter reading. Then you will be punished for having saved water up to now as you will battle to save 15% over and above what you have achieved so far.

[Gungets Tuft]

i think if they shut water off at night it makes sence. In umdloti they have put in restrictors. Some households and buildings dont get water if they are on the highest point or furthest point.
lets hope they dont punish us by enforcing a 15% water reduction based on your meter reading. then you will be punished for having saved water up to now as you will battle to save 155 over and above what you have achieved so far.

If they go historical and force further savings I'm in deep poo. It's just been my wife and I for 3 years, but now my son is back home permanently from boarding school and my daughter from 3 years at Rhodes. There's no way ever I can save 15% on my last 3 years average. It would be a complete travesty, and ultimately stupid to impose that rule. So it's almost certain that's exactly what they'll do because eThekwini muni decision makers are pathologically stupid. It will mean a legal challenge, which is fine because my sons mate is also back from school, his older Boet from varsity, and his old man is a lawyer, live 2 roads away. It's called Class Action ..

[Mielies!]

PS: Gents, Individual water meter restriction are done...Yes it is a reality. If you have a yellow (or yellow and red) dot of spray paint on your municipal meter, you have been restricted.
Good luck filling up a 5L bucket, it takes some much needed patience and some time...

As much as it pains me to cope with the pressure loss, Let's save some water, from what I hear Midmar (among others) looks like a small puddle compared to its usual state.... THAT is concerning before the winter.
Think Jo-jo tanks and rain water harvesting on your own property....That is what I will be doing, nothing short of 2500L...