Cape Town dam levels Western Cape

Theewaterskloof dam, August 2019 – Photo: Wayne Haylett.

Current Cape Town dam levels vs the rest of South Africa

Despite experiencing a decline this week, the Cape Town dam levels still look pretty healthy. Even more so when you compare them to every province in SA.

Cape Town dam levels Western Cape

Theewaterskloof dam, August 2019 – Photo: Wayne Haylett.

The latest figures for the Cape Town dam levels reveal that there has been a 0.3% decline in the amount of water held by the reserves. As the weather warms up and the rain fails to fall frequently, the facilities are struggling to maintain their upwards momentum from the summer.

Latest Cape Town dam levels for Monday 30 September

Nonetheless, the dams servicing the city stand at an impressive 82% full. This is more than 6% higher than the peak reached by the Cape Town dam levels in 2018. The Western Cape has launched an excellent recovery, after being plagued by the threat of drought for the past two years.

Dams in the wider province are now two-thirds full. There was even a most-welcome downpour in the Karoo this weekend, which is likely to provide interim relief to a number of farmers still fighting against the impact of drought. Despite the good news, the provincial facilities are only 3% better off than they were last year.

Dams in South Africa – who has the most water?

But how are these two catchment areas – once the most depleted in the country – now faring against the rest of the dam systems? Well, they’re putting on a very good show these days:

  1. Gauteng dams – 89% full.
  2. Cape Town dams – 82% full.
  3. Northern Cape dams – 80% full.
  4. Free State dams – 78% full.
  5. Western Cape dams – 67% full.
  6. Mpumalanga dams – 63% full.
  7. North West dams – 58% full.
  8. KZN dams – 57% full.
  9. Limpopo dams – 53% full.
  10. Eastern Cape – 53% full.

Cape Town dam levels “amongst the best” in SA

The Gauteng dams top the table, despite experiencing a few issues elsewhere. The Vaal Dam, for example, has dropped under the 55% this week. Level 1 water restrictions remain in place, even though the provincial system is the healthies in South Africa.

Worst performing dams in South Africa

Strangely enough, the Cape Town dam levels now come in second – when compared to the nine provinces. The turnaround has been immense, and another huge storm before summer officially kicks in could take their numbers closer to top spot. The Northern Cape takes a place in the top three.

Sadly, there are four provinces facing a real battle to conserve water this winter. North West and KNZ are languishing below the 60% mark, but both Limpopo and Eastern Cape could soon dip under half-full.