The Western Cape’s average dam level is creeping closer to 80%, while more rain is expected by Friday.
By Monday, the dam level had risen from 76.7% to 78% in the past week and was 66.5% in the corresponding period last year.
The average level of Cape Town’s dam system also increased from 96.4% to 98.3%, compared to 81.9% at that time in 2019.
On Friday there is a 60% chance of rain in Cape Town, Hermanus, Grabouw, Cape Agulhas, Riversdale, Mossel Bay and George.
Furthermore, there is a 30% chance of rain or showers in Paarl, Malmesbury, Worcester, Ceres, Langebaan, Redelinghuys, Clanwilliam, Vredendal, Oudtshoorn and Plettenberg Bay.
The Swartland municipality announced on Monday after a meeting of the mayoral committee that level 3 water restrictions will be lifted immediately.
WATER RESTRICITONS FOR THE SWARTLAND MUNICIPAL AREA LIFTED At a meeting of the Mayoral Committee on 21 September 2020 it…Posted by Swartland Municipality on Monday, 21 September 2020
The municipality has also decided to replace the existing emergency tariffs under level one with the “normal water tariffs” approved by the council in May and will be in force from October.
Level 3 water restriction has been in force since December 2018 when it was relaxed from level 6, according to a notice from the municipality.
Restrictions have been imposed in response to the drought that has hit parts of the West Coast since 2016.
The level of the Theewaterskloof, the largest storage dam in the province, rose from 95.6% to 98.1% in the past week, compared to 72.1% at that time last year.
Other dams supplying Cape Town:
• Lower Steenbras Dam: 101% (99.9% last week) with 14 mm of rain in the previous seven days;
• Upper Steenbras Dam: 99.4% (99.2%) with 11.2 mm in the previous seven days;
• Voëlvlei Dam: 96.9% (94.7%) with 13.5 mm of rain;
• Bergrivierdam: 100.4% (99.5%); and
• Wemmershoek Dam: 96.9% (95.4%) with 25.9 mm of rain.
In the northwest of the province, the level of the Clanwilliam Dam dropped from 100.5% to 99.1% and stood at 99.7% last year.
In the Karoo , most dam levels have dropped further and several dams’ levels are currently lower than last year:
• The Floriskraal Dam near Laingsburg: 14.9% (15.1% last week);
• Calitzdorpdam: 54,5% (56,3%);
• Leeu-Gamkadam: 14.8% (15.8%);
• Oukloofdam by baby Prince Albert: 3.3% (3.4%);
Gamkadam naby Beaufort-West: 22.2% (23.2%);
• Gamkapoort dam after Prince Albert: 0.04% (0.05%);
• Stompdrift Dam near Oudtshoorn: 7.4% (7.5%); and
Am Kammanassiedam naby Oudtshoorn: 0,06% (0,06%).
In the Southern Cape , most dams are much fuller than last year and some dams have already reached a level of 100%:
• Duivenhoks Dam near Heidelberg: 100% (100.2% last week);
• Korentepoort Dam near Riversdal: 100.1% (99.5%);
• Wolwedans Dam near Mossel Bay: 56.6% (57.1%);
• Garden Route Dam in George: 93.5% (93.5%).
