Don’t rush into expensive borehole and well point installations

Don’t rush into expensive borehole and well point installations, says Alexander Swart Property director

As he predicted a few months ago would happen, the current drastic water use restrictions in Cape Town (with Capetonians now limited to 50 litres per person per day) have given rise to near panic reactions among many of the city’s citizens, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property – and the grave danger, he says, is that they will now be prepared to spend recklessly on drought amelioration systems, particularly boreholes and well points, even though these have become extremely expensive and the use from them is now severely restricted and metered.

“Since the official declaration that the Western Cape is now a disaster area, legislation on the use of boreholes and well points has tightened drastically,” says Alexander.  “Those with these facilities are now limited to using this water for garden maintenance and other outdoor purposes to only one hour, two days a week, i.e. Tuesdays and Saturdays.  Furthermore, this has to be done before 9 am or after 6 pm on the allotted days.  In addition, it is now obligatory to have meters on these water supplies and to keep water use records which must be immediately available to inspectors.”

Despite these new rulings ,or perhaps because they are not aware of them, Cape Town residents says Alexander, seem to be willing to pay ever higher prices for boreholes and well point installations.

“In Brackenfell,” he says, “certain boreholes have to go down 60 metres and people are paying up to R1,200 per metre.  The outlay here can, therefore, be massive.”

What does Alexander advise those of us facing this drought predicament?

“Do not,” he says, “rush into installing boreholes, well points and grey water systems, useful though these always will be.  Concentrate rather on making your home and your living habits as efficient as possible as regards water usage.  Cut showering to 60 seconds, cover over your swimming pool and use it for washing, eat off disposable cardboard plates – and, though I hate to say this, now is the time to let your garden die for lack of water.  If and when the situation improves (as I am sure it will eventually) it will be possible to re-establish your garden for a fraction of what a new borehole or well point costs.”

Surprisingly, adds Alexander, the drought situation has not affected home prices.  Buyers of new homes, he says, have come to accept that gardens will now look ‘down and out’ and are confident that the day is not too far distant when they can be reinstated.

“What we are seeing so far this year is in line with what we predicted in 2017,” he says.  “This means that demand in the upper and upper middle brackets, although still good, is slowing down and levelling off, but in the middle and lower middle brackets strong demand continues to make prices resilient.  At the lower end of the market we predicted that demand would slacken because people here are the worst affected by the drastic economic situation, but, I am glad to say, potential buyers here are increasingly showing an ability to cope with the tough conditions that they face.”

For further information contact Rowan Alexander on cell phone number 082 581 3116 or by email rowan@asproperty.co.za.