Cape Town is fully in grips of winter, and with this comes days filled with rains, storms and other extreme weather conditions. The past few weeks have had several rainy days and as a result, the dams feeding the Cape Metro have been boosted by 3.9%.

“Dams supplying the Cape Metro increased by 3,9% over the past week (22 June – 28 June 2020) to 62,7% of total capacity. Water consumption for the same period dropped significantly by 76 million litres per day compared to the previous week, to 589 million litres per day,” said Xanthea Limberg, City of Cape Town Mayco Member for Water and Waste.

Cape Town’s dam levels as of June 29 (Source: City of Cape Town)

“The dramatic weather Cape Town experienced over the weekend, combined with significantly reduced consumption for the week, have seen our dam levels increase by just under 4%. It’s clear that Capetonians continue to be mindful of their water consumption, and if this kind of rainfall continues throughout winter, our dams should be in fair shape by the time the summer season begins. An outlook for the 2020/21 hydrological year will be provided at the end of the rainy season,” Limberg added.

Dam levels for all of Cape Town’s major dams (Source: City of Cape Town)

For more information on new water sources, water restrictions (Level 1 currently in place), guidelines around alternative water sources such as boreholes and rainwater tanks, and tariff information, please visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater

Also read: Unusual, powerful waves predicted for the coast

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Picture: Pixabay

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.