The Western Cape Government has said the average dam levels for the province has improved from last week’s 16.6% to 19% on Monday. MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, said is it ‘heartening’ to see dam levels increasing.
“Most major dams in the Western Cape are showing slight increases,” he said.
The Voelvlei, Theewaterskloof and Bergriver dams have all seen improvement compared to last week.
Below are the figures illustrating this:
– Voelvlei Dam
Current: 16.6%
Last Week: 14.2%
– Theewaterskloof Dam
Current: 14.7%
Last Week: 11.8%
– Bergriver Dam
Current: 42%
Last week: 37%
This is good news for Capetonians, as South African Weather Services, as well as the City of Cape Town’s Disaster and Risk Management Centre, have issued a warning of localised flooding due to a heavy rainfall.
A strong cold front will make landfall in Cape Town on Monday, bringing significant rainfall and the possibility of localised flooding across the Cape Metropole, the western Overberg and western parts of the Cape Winelands.
Coastal areas can also expect between 20 and 30 millimeters of rain, with higher volumes expected in mountainous regions of the Cape.
Bredell has warned that this does not mean that the crippling Cape Town Water Crisis is over.
“We have always warned that we need an above-average rainfall season and it needs to rain in the catchment areas for our dams to recover adequately,” says Bredell. “We are not close to feeling comfortable yet and we want to urge the public to continue to use water sparingly even if it is raining and even if dam levels are improving.”
He added that it is imperative that the dams in the province recover as much as possible, as there is more demand for water in the hot summer months.
