The Western Cape’s dam levels have shown a slight increase following recent rainfall, but remain significantly depleted compared to the same period in 2025, following a hot, dry summer and below-average winter rains last year.

The province’s overall dam system stood at 44,94% full on 4 May, up 0,67% from the previous week but 10,40% lower than the 55,34% recorded in May 2025, according to the latest data from the Department of Water and Sanitation.

The Cape Town water supply system, which draws from six major dams including Theewaterskloof and Berg River, reached 47,78% capacity, an increase of 0,62% from the previous week. However, this remains 11,42% below the 59,20% level recorded at this time last year. The system currently holds 426,36 million cubic metres of its total 892,26 million cubic metre capacity.

The Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest in the Western Cape water supply system, is at 47,31% capacity, up from 46,52% last week. The dam received 5,3 mm of rainfall over the past seven days. Last year at this time, the dam stood at 59,72%.

The Berg River Catchment system, which includes the Berg River, Voëlvlei, Wemmershoek and Misverstand dams, is currently at 49,15% full, compared to 59,20% in May 2025. Voëlvlei Dam recorded 11,3 mm of rain in the past week and now stands at 50,28%, whilst Wemmershoek received 23,2 mm and is at 49,47%.

The Breede River Catchment, which services the Boland and Overberg agricultural regions, sits at 44,04% capacity, up from 43,24% last week but down from 52,43% in May 2025. The catchment holds 466,16 million cubic metres of its total 1 058,38 million cubic metre capacity.

The Gouritz River Catchment, which supplies the Little Karoo and parts of the Garden Route, shows the steepest year-on-year decline, currently at 52,23% compared to 72,53% last year, a drop of 20,31%.

The Olifants/Doorn River Catchment remains the most depleted system at just 23,43% full, though this represents an improvement of 2,28% from last week’s 21,15%. The system stood at 31,10% in May 2025.

The province experienced a particularly hot and dry summer, with below-average winter rainfall in 2025 leaving water resources severely strained heading into the 2026 autumn season.

However, the forecast for the coming week brings welcome relief. Cape Town can expect good rainfall on Tuesday, 5 May, with further precipitation from Saturday through to the following Tuesday.

Paarl is experiencing beneficial overnight rains which are expected to persist until Wednesday, with another wet spell forecast from Sunday for most of next week.

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Paarl recorded a very healthy rainfall of 110mm for April.

Mossel Bay and the Garden Route are receiving heavy rainfall through to Thursday, providing much-needed relief to catchments in the region.

Water authorities continue to urge residents and farmers to maintain water-saving measures despite the recent rains, given that overall levels remain substantially below last year’s figures and well short of full capacity across all major systems.

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