Cape Town dams: Latest water levels for Monday 18 March

The glass is looking half-full rather than half-empty for the Cape Town dams and their provincial counterparts this week. Facilities serving the Mother City recorded their lowest decline of 2019, losing just 0.05% of its reserves over the past seven days. Water levels have been dipping by 1 – 1.5% on a weekly basis for the past few months.

This marks a huge step in the right direction for the dams, as the winter season draws in closer to the Cape. Dams serving the rest of the province also managed to arrest the slide, losing just 0.52% since last Monday.

The water levels have been buoyed by significant downpours across the Cape. The Riviersonderend water system was overflowing, as viral footage showed water gushing towards the Theewaterskloof catchment area. In fact, the largest dam in the whole of the WC enjoyed a rise of 0.4% – its first weekly increase of the year.

Western Cape and Cape Town dams: Water levels for Monday 11 March

• Theewaterskloof dam – 40.3% – (10.4% full in March 2018).
• Voëlvlei dam – 63% – (14.9% full in March 2018).
• Bergriver Dam – 72.6% (46.3% full in March 2018).
• Clanwilliam Dam – 27.9% (6.7% full in March 2018).

Anton Bredell is the minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape. He’s looking forward to winter with a clutch of cautious optimism. Although water levels are looking healthier than they did this time last year, Bredell says that Capetonians cannot “rest on their laurels”.

“There has been some relief, in some areas more than others, but nowhere enough to allow us to rest on our laurels.”

“Last year the province saw the average dam level for the entire province, drop to around 16% before we started getting enough rain to make a real difference. At the moment we are at 39.8% and heading to our usual winter rainfall period. We remain hopeful to see good rainfall this year.”

Anton Bredell