Mayor gives thanks as dam levels reach 60%
AS THE City’s dam levels reach 60% for the first time since 2016, mayor Patricia de Lille and church leaders will be giving thanks today during an interfaith prayer service for the much-needed rain.
De Lille said last May when dam levels were dangerously low, she called on the interfaith community to pray for rain.
“While dams still have some way to go to fully recover from the drought, Cape Town has experienced some good rains in recent weeks while residents and businesses continue to be an important partner in using water sparingly.”
To thank the interfaith community for their prayers, a thanksgiving prayer service will be hosted on Table Mountain, De Lille said.
For the past week, dam levels increased by 1.3% to 60.1% of storage capacity.
The average water consumption for the past week rose from 519 million to 527 million litres per day. The City said it is encouraged by the milestone that has been reached and thanks its water users for continuing to use as little water as possible in an effort to preserve the water that is in our dams.
“This remains a priority effort to ensure that we build a buffer against the summer months ahead.”
Dam levels in the province continue to increase slightly and have reached an average level of 53.5%. Last year at this time, dams were still at 31%.
MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell said increased rainfall over the past few months has provided some relief.
“However the province’s biggest dams are still not filling up as fast as we may have hoped, to levels we can be really happy about.”