Cape Town dam levels water

Heavy rain, hail and snowfall in the Western Cape this winter – particularly in recent weeks – has seen official dam levels in the province jump to in excess of 100% of capacity. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)

Cape Town dam levels: Back to reality as water totals plunge

We’ve got this week’s Cape Town dam levels, but they aren’t as pleasant as the previous bunch. The water volumes are on the slide after a tough week.

Cape Town dam levels water

Heavy rain, hail and snowfall in the Western Cape this winter – particularly in recent weeks – has seen official dam levels in the province jump to in excess of 100% of capacity. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)

After an impressive week at the end of January – which saw dam levels rise after a smattering of rain – the Cape Town dam levels have run out of luck this time. The facilities have seen 1.6% of their combined water totals chalked off over the past seven days.

How the land lies

The dams are now 70.3% full. Although the loss of water might not be ideal, the Mother City and its residents are still 11% better off than they were this time last year. The last week has been a stifling one, and there was no relief from the heavens. All six facilities serving the municipality lost water this time around.

However, Capetonians can still hold their heads high: They used four million litres of water per day less than they did in the previous week, helping to reduce the stress on the vulnerable facilities. Despite being more than seven-tenths full, Cape Town is at the mercy of climate change and drought: One below-par winter rainfall season could soon cause more issues with “water shedding” arise.

Cape Town dam levels for Monday 3 February

Major dams3/2/2020Previous week% 2019
Berg River83.9
85.5
81.8
Steenbras Lower
76.5
78.9
58.1
Steenbras Upper99.4
99.7
70.4
Theewaterskloof63.8
65.4
45.8
Voëlvlei
71.4
73.1
74.3
Wemmershoek
71.3
73.0
69.3
Total Stored Ml631 855
646 151
530 822
% Storage
70.3
71.9
59.1

Cape Town dam levels – local government responds

Anton Bredell is the minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape. This week, he is buoyed by the National Water and Sanitation masterplan report, which ranks the Western Cape as the best provincial water supplier in the country:

“According to the National Department’s report, the Western Cape scored a Green Drop mark of 83.1%, the highest for all the provinces. We’re aware of challenges in some areas and they are being addressed, but overall I want to acknowledge the effort that is going in at municipal level.”

“No-one is doing it better or delivering more than the Western Cape. I want to commend our municipalities who are working hard to further improve on their outcomes despite severe challenges including stringent budget cuts hampering the expansion of critical infrastructure.”