CAPE TOWN - The department of water and sanitation (DWS) on Tuesday welcomed a significant increase in dam levels across the Western Cape following recent rains.
According to the department, the rainfall, accompanied by snow that fell on the catchment areas of the province, have improved dam levels.
DWS spokesman Sputnik Ratau said the fact that the ground is soaked has assisted the runoff from rainfall catchment areas to speedily flow into dams. “This runoff will hopefully penetrate other water systems including ground water,” Ratau said.
He said the recent hydrological report suggested a notable improvement of the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) which includes the largest dam in the province, Theewaterskloof.
The levels of WCWSS are currently at 71.86 percent as compared to 56.46 percent at the same time last year.
The Clanwilliam Dam in the West Coast Region continued to see a week on week improvement and is currently standing at 71.67 percent - 20 percent more than last week.
“As we all aware Western Cape receives winter rainfalls and this is the best time to practice water conservation initiatives, including driving down the demand and the use of municipal water, harvesting of rainwater, exploring and implementing alternative water sources, as well as recycling and the use of groundwater,” said Ratau.