Dam levels in Cape Town have risen nicely with the recent rainfall and snow. This is the 6th consecutive week that water levels have risen, bringing much relief to the residents of the Mother City. It is a sharp contrast to just two months ago when the land was parched and water levels continued to plummet.
Figures from the City of Cape Town show that dam levels have increased to 48.3%, which is nearly 6% up from last week’s reading. Last week, readings sat at 42.7%.
Residents have also lowered their water consumption by 8.7%, which equates to approximately 481-million litres of water being consumed per day. While this is progress, residents are urged to continue their water-saving efforts – the City’s target for water consumption is 450-million litres of water per day or less.
The dam levels are as follows:
Berg River – 78.7%
Theewaterskloof – 34.7%
Voelvlei – 42%
Wemmershoek – 79%
Steenbras Lower – 52.1%
Steenbras Upper – 101.7%
With the torrential downpours has come adverse effects of mudslides, rock falls and flooding in several areas across the city’s metropole.
Approximately 4 000 homes in Khayelitsha, Philippi and Macassar were affected by the past weekend’s rains. Power lines were also down in Wynberg, Gugulethu and Lansdowne.
“Trees were uprooted in Constantia, Vredekloof, Durbanville, Tamboerskloof and Pinelands. Various City departments are making assessments and will continue the mop up operations that have been ongoing since the cold front hit,” said Charlotte Powell, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Services.
South African Weather Services has warned that the Western Cape can expect adverse weather conditions to continue until Tuesday, 3 July.
Vriend het gestuur water oppad #Theewaterskloof dam Geplaas deur Thana De Villiers #SouthAfrica @SAWeatherServic @venter_annette @AfricaWeather_ @landbou @huisgenoot @eNCAWeather @AgriWesKaap @debeer_anika @JoelGuy_ @CapeNews021 @cptweather @MonSpek1 @Netwerk24 @weathertodaysa pic.twitter.com/CEsCTU3wN0
— ReenvalSA (@ReenvalSA) July 2, 2018
Picture: @ReenvalSA/Twitter
Graphics: City of Cape Town