Heavy rains help boost dam levels to 61%
SIGNIFICANT rainfall over the weekend and yesterday has boosted dam levels to 61.94%.
This is up from 59.78% recorded last week.
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Theewaterskloof Dam has reached 45.27% capacity.
“We are excited that the Western Cape is receiving the much-needed rains to recharge the dam levels; given the fact that we are fast approaching the end of hydrological cycle,” Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said.
The department said, however, it remained concerned about the water security of the Klein Karoo region which covers the Oudtshoorn areas.
The Council of Greater Oudtshoorn recently declared a local state of disaster due to critical water shortages.
While the recent rains will bring some stability to the dams, drought conditions still persist and there is still a need to continue water conservation initiatives.
Water restrictions will be lifted once the dam levels reach 85%.
The City has meanwhile called for the conservative, marginal lowering of water restrictions based on dam levels.
Deputy mayor Ian Neilson said during a meeting with the department last Friday that the City proposed the relaxation of the restriction levels, which would pave the way for the associated relaxation of the restriction tariffs.
The City has proposed that the urban restriction be relaxed from 45% to 40% and the agricultural restriction be relaxed from 60% to 50%
“These restriction levels were imposed by the department as part of the response to the severe drought in order to preserve the water in the dams supplying Cape Town, the Western Cape and the agricultural sector.
“This means, for instance, that Cape Town is required to reduce usage by 45% of what it would normally be allocated.
“This is also how the City’s target of reaching 450 million litres of water per day, or 50 litres per person per day, was calculated.”
The department undertook to give a response to the proposals by the end of this month.
The average water consumption for the past week was 513million litres per day, down from the previous week’s 527million litres per day.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said rainfall recorded in Ceres over the past seven days measured 110mm and the Berg River Dam, a major dam for the City of Cape Town, reached 93% capacity.
Bredell reiterated the concerns around the Karoo areas, in the Gouritz River Catchment area where the average dam levels were at 18%.
“Areas including Beaufort West and Oudtshoorn remain under pressure.
“Those areas, however, are largely spring and summer rainfall areas and we hope to see some good rains move into those areas from October.”
Bredell has called on consumers to continue to use water sparingly.