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The extensive recent rainfall in some catchments across Western Cape saw an increase in dam levels, even though the rains caused disruptions and misery in other communities.
Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa, provincial head of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), said the rains have resulted in significant inflows to the dams.
She said several dams that were overflowing last week have since reduced to 100% full and some rivers have also declined.
The hydrological report of Monday (15 April) shows an improvement to the provincial dam level storages. The Misverstand, Eikenhof, De Bos, Wolwedans and several other dams are some of the dams that have seen an increase of over 5%. The Western Cape state of dams whose combined average has increased from 57,93% to 61,32%, a notable increase compared to 50,74% the same time last year.
The Gouritz River Catchment, which covers the Little and Central Karoo, and the Southern coastal belt, has this week seen significant improvement ramping to 85,08% compared to 62,03% last week.
Despite the reprieve in weather, following significant rains last week, DWS reminds people to take precautions in future. Most rain falls in the Western Cape during winter.
The cut off- lows usually lead to localised flooding, which has a potential to damage infrastructure including roads, localised flooding of low-lying areas that leads to displacement of communities, and could pose a danger when crossing low-lying bridges and rivers.
As the winter rainfall season is fast approaching, the department together with the disaster management structures will continue to monitor the weather conditions and keep the public informed.
