Water curbs stay for now

THE water restrictions will remain until the next meeting between the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and water user representatives next month to reassess the situation.

The department said it had met water users who are supplied by the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) to discuss the restrictions last Friday.

According to the latest dam level assessments, as of July 16, combined average dam levels for the WCWSS were at 54.75%, up from 53.05% last week.

The largest dam in the system, the Theewaterskloof Dam, has risen to 40.31% compared with the 20.32% at the same time last year.

DWS regional head Rashid Khan said, however, that while the pace at which the dams are replenishing is encouraging, this is nowhere near the department’s goal of 85% capacity, when the restrictions can be lifted as per the gazette of October 2017 and January 2018.

“Although the system’s storage has recovered over the past weeks, rainfall trends for this season still do not show we have received above average amounts cumulatively,” Khan said.

DWS will meet the water users at the end of August to re-assess the situation and current water restrictions will remain until then.

The rainfall trend by then will inform the increase or decrease in the management of the water restrictions, the department said.

According to the City’s water dashboard, water use has gone up by 3.1% in the last week, at a daily average of 494ML.

This, however, is still not reaching the City’s target of 450ML.