Dam levels update

THE Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in the Western Cape wishes to provide an update on the latest dam levels across the province.

Last week’s rain brought some relief as major dams steadily improved. The increased inflow into the rivers was sufficient to lead to significant inflows into the dams. According to the latest dam level assessments of June 11, the combined average dam level of the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) is at 31.51%, compared with 20.97% at the same time last year.

DWS Western Cape Regional Head Rashid Khan says there is a noticeable turnaround in the province. However, much more rain is required to significantly increase the dam levels.

“We urge water users, domestic and industrial, to continue using water sparingly,” said Khan. “DWS will only consider reducing water restrictions after the province has experienced enough rain.”

Western Cape receives its water primarily in winter, and with the dams filling earlier, there is hope that the dams will fill fast. Theewaterskloof, one of the largest dams supplying Cape Town and surrounding municipalities, is at 20.89%. Misverstand is at 107.79%. Voelvlei has recovered to 25.53% from 22.04% last week. The Clanwilliam dam on the West Coast is also showing an improvement from 14.29% last week to 20.41% this week.

As DWS we commend those water users who are harvesting rainfall on continual basis, and encourage those who are not harvesting rainfall to do so during this rainfall season.

Water is life, sanitation is dignity. Sputnik Ratau Department of Water & Sanitation