As the world observed World Water Day‚ Anthony Woolgar worried that his mother might suffer a stroke because of the scarce resource. Shirley Woolgar’s water bill amounted to more than R41,000 and "any day now", the 73-year-old will get her new bill. She fears that the bill might be substantially higher because she has a leak on her property that she cannot afford to fix. "I am waiting for the bill and I am very nervous. I don’t know what the bill is going to be‚" said Woolgar — a pensioner from Manenberg on the Cape Flats — on Wednesday. She said officials visited her home in February to inform her that she was the highest water user in the crime-infested suburb. The City of Cape Town released a list of streets where the highest water consumers live. Manenberg Avenue‚ where Woolgar resides‚ was second on the list with 655,000 litres of water used in one month. Cape Town is in a drought chokehold and there is effectively 18.6% of usable drinking water left in the city’s dams. Woolgar...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.