Cape Town dam levels could drop to 30% by April, warns climatologist

Applied climatologist Dr Peter Johnston says new estimates indicate that Cape Town’s dam levels could drop to around 30% by April.

Currently, the city’s dams are 73.7% full, but high consumption and lower-than-average rainfall projections are placing increasing pressure on the water supply.

Johnston warned that water restrictions may need to be introduced sooner than planned and has urged residents to start conserving water now.

He has also called for greater public awareness and education around the water cycle.

“We can’t desalinate at the scale that’s required and we really, really do need rain. So do people understand what the water cycle is? How rainwater eventually ends up in our taps? What’s the difference between floodwater or what we call overflow water in the streets and actual sewage water?,” asked Johnston.

Johnston added that the city did not receive enough rain this year to adequately fill the dams.

“Cape Town’s average rainfall in the Western Cape Water Supply System is over 800 millimetres a year. That’s a lot of rain that needs to fall to fill those dams, which we didn’t get this year,” he said.