Cape Town’s dam storage levels end July at 56.8% full

July may not have seen as much rain as June, but Cape Town’s dam levels finish the month 8.5% higher than last.

This comes after gains of just 0.4% were noted by the City of Cape Town in its latest dam levels report. At present, levels of the metropole’s six major dams stand at 56.8% — more than double the levels measured in 2017.

Looking at individual dams, some have had a much better week than others.

Notably, the Voëlvlei Dam continues to be the City’s top performer. It gained 1.5% over the previous week, and is now just below the 60% full mark.

The Theewaterskloof and Berg River dams also gained 0.5% and 0.3% respectively. But while the latter is pushing 87%, the Theewaterskloof Dam is just 42% full.

The Steenbras Lower Dam benefitted from more than 20mm of rain that fell in the area last Wednesday, jumping from 57.2% to 58.7%. It’s neighbour didn’t fare as well, with the Upper dam dropping from 101.4% to 98.5%.

Additionally, the Wemmershoek Dam was the other big loser this week, shedding 0.7% to 84.1%.

In total, the six dams hold more than 509-billion litres of water, up from 506-billion the previous week.

As for the City’s water consumption, thirst is again below the 500-million litres per day mark. Combined, Cape Town’s residents used 498-million litres per day during the previous week.

454-million litres were drawn from the aforementioned dams.

Feature image: Luis Tosta via Unsplash