Cape Town - With a cold front making landfall this morning in the south-western parts of the Western Cape, the provincial government says dam levels across the province are more than 20% higher than they were at the same time last year.
According to the provincial government, the latest average dam level in the Western Cape was 71.5%, compared with 53% in the same period last year.
The latest average level of dams providing water to the City of Cape Town was 93% (2020: 72%).
Good rainfall over the past 10 days has resulted in the largest dams in the province filling rapidly. The Clanwilliam dam increased from 23.6% to 94.2% in the past 10 days.
The Theewaterskloof dam, which is the biggest dam in the Western Cape, was at 99.5% of its capacity.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said more rain was expected later this week, which would add to dam and river levels across the province.
“We are seeing an above-average rainfall season, and we are grateful. Some regions, the Gouritz River catchment area in particular, remain in need of rain. We hope to see some relief there. Elsewhere in the province, especially the City of Cape Town area and the Cape Winelands and Overberg regions, the ground is saturated, and the further rainfall will lead to more localised flooding this week.”
Bredell urged the public to be cautious when travelling across the province during bad weather and to take note of the extremely cold weather predicted to set in later this week.