Dam levels increase by 6.3% over past week

AS OF yesterday , Cape Town’s collective water usage over the past week was 520 million litres of water a day. Dam levels have again increased solidly by 6.3% to a total of 38.1%.

This is the biggest single weekly increase this year.

The good rainfall received over the past four weeks has increased our dams’ storage to the same levels they were at towards the end of winter of last year.

While good, it is too soon to know what supply level is needed in order to safely navigate the summer of next year, the City of Cape Town said.

The City has urged residents to use less water, even if it is raining. The national government’s restrictions on abstractions from the dams remains in effect.

“The innovation on water-saving consumption that we’ve seen from residents, businesses and this local government has been quite phenomenal. We ask them to keep up with this effort until the dams reach assured levels of supply,” said deputy executive mayor Ian Neilson.

“The City’s advanced pressure management rollout continues to have a positive effect on water usage and is now saving on average 70 million litres a day.

“We will continue rolling out our advanced pressure management programme across the metro to ensure that consumption remains in the lowest ranges possible. An assessment of our overall water situation will be done at the end of the winter rainfall season to determine whether restrictions can be adjusted.

“At this stage, the new normal of enhanced water conservation remains business as usual, as we cannot predict what the rest of the winter season will bring,” Neilson explained. – Staff Reporter

THE ADVANCED PRESSURE MANAGEMENT ROLLOUT CONTINUES TO HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT