Rain brings a trickle of relief but Karoo drought is far from over

The parched Karoo received some relief thanks to rain at the weekend - but the drought is by no means broken.

"In some areas, rivers flowed for the first time in four years - such as the Touws River," said Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell on Monday.

"The Gamka Dam in Beaufort West also saw some water in it for the first time in years." 

However, most regions received less than 10mm of rain.

"The reality is that the drought remains in full effect and we continue to plan and manage accordingly," said Bredell.

He urged communities in the Karoo to use less water and to report and fix leaks swiftly.

"Municipalities like Beaufort West, Kannaland and Laingsburg will continue receiving assistance from the province, as has been the case over the past four years, but we must urge proper management of the water supply in these towns."

In the past two weeks, the provincial department of local government has delivered 34,000 litres of bottled water to Beaufort West and 11,000 litres to Laingsburg.

The current dam levels are as follows:

• Provincial dam average: 46.6% (up from 23.6% in 2018);
• Dams supplying Cape Town: 58.3% (up from 25.1%);
• Theewaterskloof Dam: 45.2% (up from 12.3%);
• Voëlvlei Dam; 73.2% (up from 17.6%);
• Berg River Dam: 81% (up from 52.4%); and
• Clanwilliam Dam: 50.6% (up from 14.6%).