Cape Town - Western Cape residents can brace for more wet and cold weather till Thursday as the cold front rainfall is expected to set in over the south-western parts spreading eastwards along the south coast by Tuesday, the South African Weather Services has said.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said very cold weather conditions would set in over the interior parts of the Western Cape with snow over the mountainous area on Wednesday morning and daily temperatures were expected to be very low on Tuesday and Thursday.
“Please take necessary precautions and apply caution when travelling across the province this week. Emergency services and disaster management remain on standby.”
He said further rainfall would continue to add to dam and river levels in the province.
The latest average dam level in the Western Cape is 74.1% (2020: 60.7%) while the latest average level for dams providing water to the City is 95.7% (2020: 77%).
The Department of Water and Sanitation said the Western Cape Water Supply System was likely to hit the 100% mark in the next few weeks if it rained at the pace recently experienced over the last few days.
The Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest dam in the Western Cape, and Berg River near Franschhoek have both reached 100%.
Four dams including Roode ElsBerg Dam increased by over 5% compared to last week.
The Clanwilliam Dam has seen an increase of close to 30% over the last three weeks, said Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
While the department was pleased with the manner in which dams were being replenished in the province, the Gouritz River catchment area remained a concern as the water situation there continued to deteriorate.
Cape Times