Cape Town - The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in the Western Cape has urged all water users in the province to use water sparingly after confirming a week-on-week decrease of more than 1-2% in dam levels.
DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the hydrological report published on Monday suggested a more than 2% decline in the Western Cape Water Supply System, which consisted of six dams – the system stood at 66.05% which was a decline from the 68.35% observed this time last year.
“The Theewaterskloof Dam is at 67.90%, compared with 72.11% at the same time last year. This is a satisfactory outlook given that winter is on the doorstep, with the possibility of high inflows. Flooriskraal and Stompdrift are the only dams that have seen a decrease of more than 5% this week,” Ratau said.
He added Gamka Dam in the Central Karoo had been hovering above 90% over the past few weeks, which was a remarkable recovery compared with its 49.91% of a year ago. He said the Misverstand Dam on the West Coast was overflowing at 100.85%.
“DWS appeals to all water users, in particular high-end water users, to use water sparingly during and beyond the rainy season,” Ratau said.
Water-saving tips from DWS were for car washers to use buckets instead of hosepipes, gardens should be watered during the early morning and late afternoon, households should recycle their water, and those with rain harvesting tanks were encouraged to harvest rainwater.
With Cape Town located in a waterscarce region, affected by uncertain rainfall patterns, Water and Sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien reminded residents and businesses to be water-wise at all times to prevent wasting water by implementing the DWS’s tips, as well as the City’s, to help them find and fix leaks on their properties, as well as adhere to the City’s water by-laws.
Some of these included ensuring that hosepipes used for watering or washing vehicles, boats, and caravans were fitted with a controlling device such as a spray nozzle or automatic self-closing device, and checking water fittings and pipes regularly for leaks, as well as checking the efficiency of taps, toilets, and showers by ensuring that the maximum flow rate of new and replaced shower heads did not exceed seven litres per minute.