Cape Town water crisis: Why desalination can't provide water overnight

Theewaterskloof Dam/(Jon Kerrin Photography

Latest Western Cape dam levels: at 33% compared to 61% last year

The water situation in Cape Town remains pretty desperate.

Cape Town water crisis: Why desalination can't provide water overnight

Theewaterskloof Dam/(Jon Kerrin Photography

The City of Cape Town implemented level 5 water restrictions over the weekend and when you look at the latest dam levels, it’s easy to see why.

The average water level for dams across the Western Cape is 33.6%.

In the corresponding period last year, towards the end of the province’s usual winter rainfall period, the dam levels were at 61%.

Anton Bredell, the minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape says dam levels have not been recovering as they should for this time of the year.

The public has been urged to conserve water as much as they can, especially with summer looming large and the rain about to abate.

“We are planning ahead with an eye on the coming summer months when demand tends to increase rapidly. We hope this year that demand can be kept down instead,” Bredell said.

The latest Western Cape dam levels

Theewaterskloof is currently at 26% (2016: 51%); Voëlvlei Dam is at 26% (2016: 65%) and Clanwilliam Dam 38% (2016: 99%).

According to the “How many days of water does Cape Town have left” – a website that uses the available data to calculate how long before the province runs out of water – there’s enough to supply residents until 19 December 2017.