Dam levels in Cape Town have declined further, with storage levels now at 25.2%, which is 1.1% lower than a week ago. With the last 10% of a dam’s water mostly not being usable, dam levels are effectively at 15.2%.
According to Xanthea Limberg, the city’s mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services, consumption over the past week was 742 million litres per day, which is 42 million litres above the collective daily usage target of 700 million litres.
According to Limberg, while many Capetonians were making a concerted effort to save water, consumption at present was simply too high.
“It will take a number of consecutive winters of good rainfall for our dam levels to recover – and there is no guarantee that we will have above-average rainfall in the coming winter,” she said.
The South African Weather Service has warned that the situation in the Western Cape is critical - especially since the winter seasonal rainfall was expected to be late this year. Rain is only expected to arrive in mid-July.
A month ago dam levels were at 30%, leaving the city with around 100 days of water. If dam levels continue to decrease at the current rate there are real fears that the city will run out of usable water by the end of June.
According to Limberg, the city has started to control its supply from the Faure Reservoir, the largest of 26 reservoirs storing treated drinking water in the city.
In a pilot project the city has lowered pressure to the central and southern suburbs by reducing pressure at the reservoir itself. It is estimated around 25 million litres of water per day can be saved this way.
This week the city also started reducing pressure in connections to a variety of other areas including Blackheath, Kleinvlei, Kuils River, Delft, Macassar, Firgrove, Somerset West, Strand, Gordon’s Bay, and Sir Lowry’s Pass Village.
