Over the past week Cape Town’s daily water consumption has climbed to 1 073 million litres, a concerning 98 million litres above the target usage. Dam levels continue their steady decline, dropping approximately 2% each week since December 2025, bringing the current storage to 60,1%.
The reality check? This water supply must sustain the city until the next seasonal rainfall cycle arrives.
With summer’s heat intensifying demand and our reserves under pressure, the City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is calling on every resident, business and visitor to embrace water-conscious living, not just as a suggestion, but as a shared responsibility.
“While there is no immediate cause for concern about water security in Cape Town we all use water so it’s our collective responsibility to do so wisely,” emphasised Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation. “Let’s work together now to do all we can to protect our water supply.”
Team Cape Town, the time is now. Every drop saved today helps secure the city’s water future.
As questions arise about managing current supply while building long-term water security, Badroodien provides answers and actionable steps.
1. Why do we need a water use target for summer?
All of us need to use water wisely this summer and to fix leaks, so we can collectively keep our usage under 975 million litres a day (MLD) to reduce the risk of restrictions should below average rainfall be experienced this winter.
If we use more than this target this summer, followed by another below average rainfall this winter, the City may have to implement water restrictions by next summer.
There is no immediate cause for concern about water security in Cape Town as our dam levels are currently 60,1%. However, based on last year’s below average rainfall, the City has decided to set a proactive water savings target until the next rainy season, ie winter this year.
2. What is the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate doing to be water-wise while building Cape Town’s water secure future?
Since the drought, the City has and continues to proactively invest in annually upgrading aged water pipes, improving pressure management, fixing leaks faster and strengthening metering along the water supply network.
The City is also actively investing and progressing with strategic plans for Cape Town’s new water supply to build our water secure future, which aims to add 300 million litres a day to our water supply. This includes projects such as desalination, groundwater schemes and reuse.
3. Why has the City of Cape Town not implemented water restrictions?
The National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) ordinarily implements water restrictions on water users.
DWS conducted the Annual Operating Analysis (AOA) – which assesses the availability and security of water supply in the system – in November 2025. Factors considered in determining whether there is a cause for concern include:
· Current and previous year’s dam levels
· Rainfall patterns in the current and following years
· Water demand, especially over the hot summer months
Based on the analysis from 1 November 2025, DWS approved that no water restrictions needed to be implemented in Cape Town this 2025-’26 hydrological year.
The City may, based on its own assessments of water usage and dam levels, propose water restrictions before the next AOA. The City is and will continue to monitor dam levels and water use closely over the coming months, especially this summer.
Residents are reminded, though, that permanent Water By-law regulations do apply and are compulsory even when water restrictions have not been implemented. See: Water-use regulations permanently in place_2020.pdf (capetown.gov.za)
While there is no immediate reason for concern around Cape Town’s dam levels everyone needs to please manage their water use over the coming months to ensure that we will not need to implement water restrictions in future.
Water restrictions are the last option and done to conserve water, but the likelihood of implementing them can be prevented if we all use water wisely.
We need to reiterate: early proactive measures are far more effective than emergency restrictions.
4. Why can’t we build more dams to help Cape Town’s water security?
The drought has taught Cape Town that it is vital to have diverse water sources and not depend only on rain-fed dams.
Based on this, the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is investing in Cape Town’s New Water Programme (NWP) aimed at building a resilient, diverse water supply that will navigate future climate shocks and drought regardless of unpredictable rain.
Initiatives, including desalination, water re-use, clearing of invasive plant species and groundwater schemes, make up the NWP. This is part of the City’s strategy to increase drinking water supply by 300 million litres a day.
Our water resilience is important for our residents and for economic growth in Cape Town.
5. What can we all do to be water wise?
Here are key tips to keep water usage down:
- Find and fix water leaks on your property.
- If dripping taps leaking toilets and faulty plumbing go undetected and ignored for a long time, a lot of water is wasted.
- Monitor your own usage and make the effort to save water. About 70% of all water used in the city is used in homes, which is why saving water at home is so critical. Only water the garden at night to prevent evaporation and avoid topping up swimming pools or pool inflatables unnecessarily.
- Report burst municipal pipes immediately to the City through formal channels. There are various ways to report a leak or a pipe burst: Call 086 010 3089 (select option 2); SMS 31373; WhatsApp 060 018 1505; or email water@capetown.gov.za. Please provide an exact location or address and always insist on a reference number.
- Switch to treated effluent re-use for industrial irrigation or construction purposes. The City promotes and supplies treated effluent to large water users such as industry, sports clubs, golf clubs, large new developments and schools.
For more water saving tips, click here.
