Cape Town dam levels: City’s dams are officially full

Dam levels in Cape Town have officially reached full capacity, with the municipality sharing its latest dam readings showing 100.1% storage.

The readings were shared on 2 October on the City of Cape Town website.

The city’s dams have steadily been filling thanks to a better rain season and other water supply augmentation schemes.

However, Capetonians still face water restrictions and tariffs. Level 1 water tariffs are currently in place in the city, along with Level 1 water restrictions.

In a statement on 30 September, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste Xanthea Limberg said that a final decision regarding restrictions would be made at the end of October.

“A final decision regarding water restriction levels will be taken at the official end of the rainfall season after 31 October, in consultation with national government, the agriculture sector, and smaller municipalities, which share water supply sources with Cape Town,” Limberg said.

But the full dams are welcome news to a city that faced the possibility of Day Zero in 2018. Two years ago, residents experienced Level 6 water restrictions.

However, the good news comes as the city moves into its dry season — when supply will start to decrease again.

Cape Town dam level report for October

The latest report shows that many of the city’s major dams have exceeded their capacity.

The Berg River dam, Steenbras Lower dam, and Theewaterskloof dam are over 100% full.

Meanwhile, the Steenbras Upper dam, Voëlvlei dam, and Wemmershoek dams are all over 98.8% full.

This brings the city’s overall dam levels to 100.1%.

You can see the breakdown of the Cape Town dam levels below:

Feature image: the Wemmershoek Dam in 2018, by City of Cape Town