Western Cape dam levels are rising from cold weather

Dam levels in the South-Western Cape showed a huge jump over the past week after two cold fronts hit the province.

On Thursday there is another 30% chance of more rain over large parts of the Western Cape.

The province’s average dam level was 44.4% on Monday, compared to 41.2% a week ago. Last year it was at 39.4%.

Cape Town’s average dam level has increased from 58.5% to 62.6% over the past week, compared to 52.6% this time in 2019.

Sputnik Ratau, spokesman for the Department of Water and Sanitation, said in a statement that the heavy rain provided much-needed water to the Western Cape’s dams.

Some dams such as Eikenhof Dam, Lakenvalleidam and Stettynskloof Dam have risen by more than five percentage points over the past week.

Ratau says the department hopes good rains continue and that dam levels continue to rise.

“The 2019 -20 winter rainfall season is better than that of 2016 to 2018. This period was characterized by ongoing drought which resulted in the province’s average dam level falling to as low as 17% in April 2018.”

The level of Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest storage dam in the province, has risen from 55.4% to 59.3% over the past week compared to 44.5% a year ago.

The levels of other dams that provide water to Cape Town look like this:

• Lower Steenbras Dam: 49.3% (48.1% last week) with 25.5 mm of rain in the previous seven days

• Bo-Steenbrasdam: 100,7% (99,6%)

• Birdwatching dam: 57.6% (54.8%) with 42 mm of rain

• Berg River Dam: 81.2% (73.9%) with 109 mm of rain and

• Wemmershoek Dam: 50% (43.7%) with 91 mm of rain.

In the north-west of the province, Clanwilliam Dam’s level rose from 18% to 19.9%, compared to 16.4% in the corresponding period last year.

In the Karoo , most dam levels have dropped slightly and many dam levels remain extremely low:

• Floriskraald Dam near Laingsburg: 15.9% (16.1% last week) with 3.6 mm of rain;

• Calitzdorpdam: 50,8% (50,6%);

• Lion Gamkadam: 24.2% (25%);

• Gamkadam near Beaufort West: 30.3% (30.7%) with 1 mm of rain;

• Gamkapoort Dam near Prince Albert: 0.17% (0.19%) with 1.2 mm of rain;

• Stompdrift Dam near Oudtshoorn: 8.49% (8.53%) with 2.6 mm of rain; and

• Kammanassiedam naby Oudtshoorn: 0,1% (0,1%).

In the Southern Cape , most dam levels also dropped and rainfall of mostly below 5 mm was measured the previous seven days:

• Duivenhoksdam near Heidelberg: 99.5% (99.9% last week);

• Korentepoort Dam near Riversdale: 79.4% (79.2%) with 1 mm of rain;

• Wolwedans Dam near Mossel Bay: 60.9% (61.6%) with 5.4 mm of rain; and

• Garden root dam in George: 91.5% (92.9%) with 3.6 mm of rain.

The South African Weather Service expects cool and sunny to partly cloudy weather through Thursday in most parts of the province.

On Thursday there is a 30% chance of rain in Cape Town, Paarl, Malmesbury, Ceres, Langebaan, Grabouw, Cape Agulhas, Riversdale, Mossel Bay and George.

For Hermanus, a 60% chance of rain is forecast and for Plettenberg Bay a 30% chance of showers.

By Friday, partly cloudy weather is expected over most of the Western Cape, with maximum temperatures around 20 ° C.