Water restriction levels, in plain language
Each municipality sets its own levels and rules. Here is how to read them and where we get them.
A water restriction level is a legal notice from your municipality that limits how water may be used, usually with a matching tariff. Level 1 is the lightest. Higher levels add rules about garden watering times, hosepipes, pools, car washing and sometimes a daily limit per household, and the price per kilolitre rises in steps.
Levels are not the same from one town to the next. Stellenbosch has been on Level 2 since 1 March 2026, George eased to Level 2B from 22 May 2026, and the City of Cape Town has no restrictions in force but keeps a Level 2 tariff schedule ready in its 2026/27 budget.
Because restrictions carry legal weight, we never let software guess them. Our team enters each level from the official notice, links to it, and writes the rules out in plain language. You get an alert when the level for your municipality changes.