Cape Town - With the below-average rainfall continuing in the Western Cape, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) warned that the average combined dam levels of the Western Cape Water Supply System experienced a notable decline to 76.26% from the 98.11% it was in this same period last year.
DWS Western Cape provincial head Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa said the Western Cape received below normal rainfall in the past four months, and as such dam storages were a concern compared to the last two years.
The latest hydrological report showed shocking declines in dam levels compared to the same time last year, particularly in the West Coast District Municipality which experienced a sharp decrease in dam levels.
“The Clanwilliam Dam's current level is 58.08%, a significant decline from 99.63% last year. At present, Theewaterskloof, the largest dam in the Western Cape, is at 76.76%, compared to 101% last year this time,” Bila-Mupariwa said.
Despite the dam levels being low compared to the previous two years, Bila-Mupariwa said there was no need to panic since the province’s rainy season was not over yet.
The City said Cape Town’s latest dam levels stood at a healthy 76.4% and reminded residents that some water restrictions were in place at all times.
Water and Sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien said: “Typically the dam levels would be higher by this time of year, but we are only halfway through our rainfall season.
“However, based on our own statistical modelling as at the end of July 2022, we expect the dam levels to end the rainfall season at around 90%, dependent on the rainfall over the next three months.”
Badroodien said there was no cause for alarm and that if need be, they would activate the necessary measures.
The DWS also reminded water users that climate change had made the rainfall patterns unpredictable.
Stefaan Conradie of the UCT Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) said: “There is good reason to believe that multi-year droughts will increase significantly in frequency with human-caused climate change.”