Winter rains boost dam levels in the Western Cape

Dam levels in the Western Cape have risen by more than 6% over the past week after winter rains.

The province said in a statement on Monday that the latest average level for dams across the province stood at 45.4% compared to 47.2% in 2018.

The average level of dams supplying the City of Cape Town now stood at 59.6% compared to 53% in 2018.

Minister of local government, environmental affairs and development planning Anton Bredell said following the recent rainfall, water continued to flow into dams around the province from various catchment areas.

"We’re very happy to see the levels starting to increase dramatically."

According to Bredell, the past week saw the Berg River Dam level increase by more than 10% while that of the Clanwilliam Dam increased by more than 15%.

The Theewaterskloof Dam, the biggest in the province, had increased by 5.5% and was now more than 50% full. Bredell said at this time in 2018 it was sitting at 38%.

"Overall we expect dam levels will continue to increase in the coming weeks.

"We don’t know how much more rain we will get and we don’t know to what extent our dam levels will improve. The resource will always be under pressure and we must become more water conscious on a permanent basis, doing what we can to use our scarce resources more responsibly."

Here is a breakdown of dam levels according to the province:

• Voëlvlei dam – 65.1% 
• Bergriver Dam -  89.2% 
• Theewaterskloof Dam – 50% 
• Clanwilliam Dam -  34.2%