Cape Town - Renewed calls have been made for Cape Town and the province to use water sparingly following the latest dam level update which showed that the current average water level of the combined Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) was at about 65%, compared to 90% at the same time last year.
This comes during dry and hot summer conditions being experienced throughout the region as well as the realities of climate change and decreasing winter rainfall, which have made water supply an increasingly relevant issue for the Western Cape.
Acting provincial head of the Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation Mkhevu Mnisi said the low dam levels were not a cause for alarm at the moment as the observed storage was within the projected storage levels from the 2022/23 operating analysis.
“The state of storage within the WCWSS is being monitored closely on a continuous basis. We encourage users to continue to save water and limit its large-scale usage, especially in times of severe electricity load shedding stages as the pumps, treatment and bulk storage reservoirs are under stress to keep the water flowing,” Mnisi said.
Earlier this summer, the City appealed to everyone in Cape Town to limit their collective water use to no more than 850 million litres of water per day.
Water and Sanitation Mayco member Siseko Mbandezi said this was a proactive maximum limit that was set to help maintain the supply to keep dams and reservoirs fuller for longer, and navigate the impact of prolonged high stages of load shedding.
Mbandezi said: “Over summer, the collective water usage has increased significantly. We are currently using 969 MLD, which is 119 MLD above the required target of 850MLD, and dam levels are dropping about 2.2% a week.
“We need all hands on deck to reduce this current rate of water use, to stay below the limit.”
This call was supported by local government MEC Anton Bredell as the unpredictable hot and dry summer and weather patterns meant they could not assume there would be plentiful rain in the next winter season.
Meanwhile, the standing committee on local government of the Western Cape provincial parliament will hold a series of hearings to co-ordinate the response to strengthen water resilience in the province.
DA Western Cape spokesperson on local government, Derrick America, said: “Despite marginally increased levels of rainfall in recent years, the relatively dry 2022 winter has resulted in decreasing dam levels across the province.
“This has been further exacerbated by Eskom’s ever-worsening rolling blackouts, which have damaged critical infrastructure and hampered the ability of municipalities to pump water to their residents.”
During the hearings, municipalities will present their plans for water resilience, and highlight areas in which they required extra support.