#EveryDropCounts: Two Cape dams reach 100% mark after recent rains (VIDEO)

A video on @trafficSA's Twitter page of the Clanwilliam Dam sluice gates being opened received over 33 000 views on Twitter by 6pm on Thursday, with 1 300 Likes. Screen grab: @trafficSA

A video on @trafficSA's Twitter page of the Clanwilliam Dam sluice gates being opened received over 33 000 views on Twitter by 6pm on Thursday, with 1 300 Likes. Screen grab: @trafficSA

Published Sep 20, 2018

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Three days of rain has seen dam levels in the Western Cape surge to a combined level of 72.7% after starting the week at 70%. 

According to City of Cape Town statistics on Thursday, dam levels have increased to such a degree that both the Clanwilliam and Berg River dams broke the 100% mark this week. It has been a week of extremes, with snow flurries on Table Mountain on Wednesday.

The Steenbras Upper (95.8%), Wemmershoek (93.6%), Steenbras Lower (92.6%) and Voëlvlei (87.2) dams are also edging towards the 100% mark. Cape Town's main supply dam, Theewaterskloof, is at 54.% of its capacity, with hopes it can break the 60% mark before summer. 

The opening of the sluice gates of the Clanwilliam Dam in the Olifants River Valley also brought cheer on social media and much-needed relief to the drought-stricken farming community on the West Coast. 

Western Cape - Clanwilliam Dam: Sluice Gates open - what a beautiful sight #CapeTown #WaterCrisis pic.twitter.com/8JSwXGg40e

— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) September 19, 2018 A video on @trafficSA's Twitter page of the sluice gates being opened received more than 33 000 views by 6pm on Thursday, with 1 300 Likes. The dam holds 70 million cubic metres of water, which is used for irrigation. It was only 38.4% full in September last year.

Western Cape Local Government Department spokesperson James-Brent Styan told the SABC on Thursday: “A year ago this time, the (Clanwilliam) dam was only about 40% full, which shows what a turnaround we've seen over the past winter period, with some very good rain in the catchment area, which led to the fact that the Clanwilliam Dam is now full."

#WATCH: snow on #tablemountain! pic.twitter.com/M32dRuEqJw

— Table Mountain C/Way (@TableMountainCa) September 19, 2018

"That means that the sluices can be opened so there's more water for the agriculture sector. In the Western Cape, the agriculture sector provides a lot of jobs so it leads to economic growth which is always good."

The dam levels of the Berg River (3.4%), Wemmershoek (3.6%), Steenbras Lower (4.9%) and Theewaterskloof (2.4%) all rose in the past three days, while the Steenbras Upper remained unchanged and the Voelvlei declined by 1.5%.

Current Dam Water Levels - 20/9/2018Major damsStorageMl% Capacity when full   20/9/2018Berg River130 010100.1Steenbras Lower33 51792.6Steenbras Upper31 76795.8Theewaterskloof480 18854.9Voëlvlei164 09587.2Wemmershoek58 64493.6Total Stored Ml898 221653 178% Storage 72.7

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