Cape Town dams: Day Zero now 80 days away as dam levels fall 1.4%

If you aren’t yet preparing for Cape Town’s impending water scarcity disaster, right now may be a good time to begin. This at least according to the latest, and most alarming, dam report to date.

According to the City of Cape Town, dam levels have fallen 1.4% since the previous report was published last Monday. That’s some three weeks’ worth of water used in just seven days, or approximately 12-billion litres.

Our current consumption, for the Western Cape Water Supply System and smaller dams, remains over 600-million litres. People are not heeding the call to reduce water consumption at all.

For the first time this year, all six dams are emptier this week than last.

The Theewaterskloof Dam is now just 14.2% full, falling 1.7% in total over the previous week. This comes even after the dam’s catchment area received 21mm of rain during the week. Notably, that’s close to the total average rainfall it receives in January.

Cape Town’s six large dams now hold one fifth of their potential storage, and just 13.7% of it is usable

Continuing the downward trend, the Voëlvlei Dam is now just 18.6% full, down a percentage point over the previous week.

The Steenbras duo are also down, with the Upper dam 1.5% emptier this week than last, and the lower dam 1.9% sparser.

The Berg River Dam — currently the dam with the most water stored — remains 55% full, but down 1.5% in total.

Data via City of Cape Town

And finally, usually the bringer of good news, the Wemmershoek Dam is down by 0.1% to 52.3% full. This even after its catchment area received no rain this week.

Of the 14 dams monitored by the City of Cape Town across the peninsula and Western Cape, only the 182-million litre Lewis Gay Dam in Simon’s Town saw an increase to its stores.

With the increased consumption this week, and the steep dip in water stored over the previous week, Day Zero is now set for 12 April 2017 — nine days closer than the previous week.

Rainfall is forecast for Monday evening through Tuesday, but we’re not sure what impact — if any — the precipitation will have on current dam levels.

Feature image: City of Cape Town