Western Cape residents are being called on by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to renew their efforts to use water sparingly following reports that dam levels in the province have dropped by almost two percentage points in the last week.
According to DWS provincial head Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa, the week-on-week decline is the result of increased water use amid ‘scorching hot weather conditions’ in parts of the Western Cape since the start of 2024.
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‘The sweltering high temperatures we have experienced combined with high water usage in recent weeks have contributed to the slight decline of the dam levels in the province,’ said Bila-Mupariwa in a statement.
The Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS), which supplies water to Cape Town, Theewaterskloof, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch, Berg River, Swartland and Saldanha municipalities, currently stands at 78.46%, a 1.86% decrease compared to last week.
On the West Coast of the province, the Olifants-Doorn River Catchment’s average combined dam levels are 53.91%, compared to 57.68% last week.
In the Gouritz River Catchment, which covers the Little and Klein Karoos as well as the coastal belt, the combined average is 66.88% – a considerable improvement from the period when it hovered below 50% between 2018 and 2022.
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In terms of individual dams, Theewaterskloof Dam – the largest dam in the province which accounts for 54% of the Western Cape’s water supply – is 75.21% full, compared to last year’s yield of 54.80%.
The Berg River Dam stands at 79.69% full, the Brandvlei Dam at 59.47%, the Gamka Dam at 77.77% and the Wolwedans Dam at 96.12%.
Bouts of extreme heat have taken hold of the Western Cape since the start of the new year, with News24 having previously reported that heatwave conditions were expected for parts of the province at the start of this week.
According to the publication, the impact has been heavily felt in the Central Karoo, where temperatures soared into the low 40s amid a widespread power outage and water shortages.
The towns of Roggeveld, Laingsburg, Ladismith, Leeu Gamka, Swartberg, Merweville, Matjiesfontein and Prince Albert in the Western Cape, as well as Fraserburg and Sutherland in the Northern Cape, have been without power since a storm knocked down seven pylons in the area on 3 February.
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