Restrictions will remain in place until Western Cape dam levels exceed 85% – water department
The average dam levels for the Western Cape Water Supply System have increased by nearly 5% since last week, says the Department of Water and Sanitation's regional office.
According to assessments on Monday, dam levels have increased from 48.33% last week to 53.05% on Monday, with the Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest dam in the system, nearly doubling in capacity compared to the same time last year.
The department's regional head, Rashid Khan, said they hoped for more rain during the winter rainfall season which would be a significant step towards increasing water security in the province.
He said despite the improvements, residents in the province still had to continue saving water in the face of climate change and change the ways in which they consume water.
"The prevailing water restrictions will remain in force until our dam levels reach more than 85% as a collective average of the dams in the Western Cape," he said.
"It is not the intention of this department to curtail water users at household sphere of governance to 50 liters of water per person per day."
Khan said a collective effort by both local and national government should be made to guard against complacency and for both to work seamlessly towards higher levels of water security.
The department said it was pleased with the much-needed rainfall and hoped it would continue to fill the dams to storage levels above 85%.
