Cape Town - Dam levels are showing slight increases due to late winter rain, but Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell says fuller dams don’t mean the province is out of the woods yet.
Bredell said his department would continue to monitor the regions where extreme water stress remained.
“This winter we received good rainfall in most areas, but some regions - mostly in the Karoo agricultural sector - have still not had the needed relief. Those areas remain under extreme pressure as we head into summer.”
The average level for dams in the province is 66.4%. This time last year the level was 64%. The biggest dam in the province, Theewaterskloof, is at 72%. This time last year it was at 55%.
Bredell said: “Multiple departments, including national Water and Sanitation and the departments of agriculture are working tirelessly to alleviate matters where possible.”
He repeated the call for consumers to continue to use water responsibly.
“We are heading for summer, and the likelihood of dam-levels increasing much is extremely low. So we need to now manage the water we have as efficiently as we can over the next few months, before the winter.
“Using less water must be a permanent way of life. The resource will always be under pressure due to climate change, population growth, and urbanisation. We must learn to do more with less.”