The Western Cape’s dam levels may have increased to an aggregate reported 25.1% on Monday, but it remains a far cry from the average level of 46% reported at the same time in 2016.
Despite recent rainfall pushing the dam levels up from the 17.6% reported on May 29, the drought persisted across the entire province, said Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell.
“The latest data does not reflect the weekend’s rainfall and it was pleasing to note reported rainfall measurements of up to 50 mm in some areas in the Western Cape. This, in addition to good snowfall, should have a good impact on dam levels; however, we are still a long way from where we need to be,” he explained.
The hope is still to see dam levels recover to average levels of 75% by October.
However, Bredell warned consumers to continue using water sparingly, as there was no certainty of the amount of rain and whether the rain would fall in the catchment areas.