W Cape levels drop below 60%

THE average dam level in the Western Cape has dropped below 60% and stands at 59.6% (2017:33.5%), says the department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.

Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said the city was better off than the province, with dams supplying it with water currently on average 69.6% full (2017: 34.7%).

“We have noted the City’s recent decision to reduce water restriction levels to a level three,” he said.

“At the beginning of October the level was still a record level 6B in the city. We note that the City’s idea is to give back to citizens.

‘‘This is achieved by the fact that the reduced restriction means that water is much cheaper.

“We would like to urge consumers not to use the lower restriction levels to revert to increased water consumption.

‘‘The bonus is that if citizens can continue to use lower amounts of water, the fact is that they will now pay a lot less.”

The City said the average water consumption had decreased by 13 million litres a day to 563 million litres a day for the past week, which was well within the usage range.

The levels of the dams that supply Cape Town declined by 1% over the past week to 70.3% of storage capacity.

This is compared to dam levels of 35.3% at the same time last year.

At the start of the winter season, the average dam level for the province hit a record low of 16%.

“The situation also shows a marked improvement from what the situation was at this time in 2017, when the average dam level for the province was 33.5%.

‘‘This indicates the difference the winter rains have made across the province this year.

‘‘However, the situation in the Karoo regions of the province remains severe, with many areas continuing to rely on groundwater,” said the department.