Following a recent rainfall in the Western Cape on Monday, dam levels across the province have dropped below 50%.
Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, has called on municipalities to evaluate their water security and consider implementing water restrictions. Bredell’s call came after the Department of Water and Sanitation released its weekly report on Monday. It indicated that Western Cape dams had an average level of 49.7%, with Cape Town’s dams at 56.4%. According to Bredell, the current dam levels are significantly lower than last year’s levels of 65% for combined dam levels and 80.8% for Cape Town dam levels.
Bredell stated, ‘My department will be interacting with each municipality in the province to assess and evaluate their water security situation. Where necessary, we will recommend that water restrictions are implemented sooner while there are still options available.’ He also urged municipalities to ensure their water infrastructure is well-maintained to minimize leaks and to optimize water management systems to account for all water usage. Additionally, Bredell stressed the need to keep catchments free of alien plants to save water volumes.
Bredell also highlighted the important role that individual residents play in conserving water, saying, ‘Small individual actions, such as reusing water, can make a huge collective difference. We should always treat water as a scarce and valuable resource, irrespective of our dam levels.’ He will work with municipalities to evaluate their water security and recommend implementing water restrictions where necessary.
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