Despite some welcome rain in parts of the province this week residents in the province are called upon to save water.
Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, in his weekly dam level update, called on all Western Cape municipalities to evaluate their water security and consider implementation of water restrictions.
Minster Bredell made this call after the Department of Water and Sanitation released its latest weekly report Tuesday, indicating an average level of 49.7% for Western Cape dams. These levels are significantly lower than the same time last year, when the province saw a combined level of 65%.
“My Department of Local Government will be interacting with each municipality in the province to assess and evaluate their water security situation. Where necessary, we will recommend that water restrictions are implemented sooner, while there are still options available.”
According to Bredell, municipalities should ensure their water infrastructure is well maintained to minimize leaks and water management systems should be optimised so all water can be accounted for. Catchments should be kept free of alien plants, as this can also save considerable volumes of water.
On the other hand, residents play a huge role in saving water.
“Small individual actions, such as reusing water, can make a huge collective difference. We should always treat water as a scarce and valuable resource, irrespective of our dam levels,” Bredell urged.
Current dam water levels, as measured on Monday 20 February are as follows:
. Berg River 71,8%
. Steenbras Lower 57,2%
. Steenbras Upper 89%
. Theewaterskloof 53,8%
. Voëlvlei 42,2%
. Wemmershoek 70,8%
