As the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in the Western Cape, we are delighted with the downpours that have fallen across our catchments in recent weeks. Although dams are not overflowing as they were at the same time last year, recent rainfall has led to good dam inflows.

The Western Cape State of Dams (44 dams total) is currently at 78,96 % of total storage capacity. 31 Dams are Department-owned and the remainder are under municipal or Water User Association control.

Cape Town Water Supply System, consisting of the 6 largest dams supplying water to Cape Town and the surrounding, is at 84,54% a decrease of 12% compared to 101.34% same time last year.

Notable is..

Winter Rains came in (late June – early July) caused notable recovery in dam levels. System rose from 60,71 % (Week 23) to 83,17 % (Week 30).

Catchment Performance:

• Berg River Catchment: 90,18 % (↓ from 98,75 %)
• Breede River Catchment: 76,68 % (↓ from 91,62 %)
• Olifants/Doorn Catchment: 80 % (↓from 84.58 2024)
• Gouritz Catchment: ~70 % (↑ from 21% five years ago).

Given this outlook, DWS call upon all water users to

• continue conservation efforts, despite positive dam levels
• Harvest rainwater, maintain responsible water use, and monitor small dams

Rainfall remains unpredictable due to climate influences (El Niño / La Niña).

Below-average winter rainfall has been forecasted by South Africa Weather Services(SAWS) even though full capacity is still possible.

Soil saturation and flooding remain high risk and members of the public are advised to avoid river or dam recreational activity during high rainfall events.

River flows are still elevated flows typical for winter, communities must avoid crossing low-water bridges and flood-prone areas.

The availability of Bulk water does not guarantee that local restrictions are not implemented; this could be due to infrastructure and other challenges of municipalities.

The Department through various grants continues to fund/co-fund infrastructure projects whether newly built or refurbished. The two Budget Facility Infrastructure projects funded at tune of almost 3 billion to be implemented in George and Drakenstein Local Municipalities are set to provide water security, improve blue and green drop, unlock housing development and economic development, prevent sewage spillages and ensure water assurance during load shedding.

We are committed to protecting our water resources through water conservation and water demand management initiatives. Public awareness campaigns have been conducted jointly with local authorities across the province, with intensified focus on Knysna Local Municipality due to the heightened water and sanitation challenges in the municipality.

During the campaigns, communities have been sensitised about the importance of water conservation by providing tips on how to reduce water usage. We call upon communities to take an active role in water conservation.

The Department, as part of capacity building, has trained 300 unemployed youth on basic plumbing in Beaufort West, Knysna, and Theewaterskloof Local Municipalities. This training is an effort to equip the youth to fix water leaks as part of water conservation interventions within their communities aimed at reducing high water losses and non-revenue.

We remain concerned about the vandalism of water and sanitation infrastructure. This scourge of vandalism does not only cost fiscus to the tune of millions, but deprives vulnerable communities of essential basic services

The Department has embarked on extensive anti-vandalism campaigns which are aimed at educating communities on the dangers of vandalism and theft of water and sanitation infrastructure. However we have moved to a level where we are using compliance and enforcement as a deterrent strategy. We have adopted zero tolerance to other illegal activities including illegal abstractions and river diversions.

DWS Western Provincial office recently collaborated with the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to pilot a training programme that will address a skills gap for Process Controllers operating the Water Treatment Works (WTW) or Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) at 21 Water Service Authorities (WSAs) within the province. The duration of training is one year, and a qualification will be obtained according to the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at NQF 3 and 4 levels.

We wish to thank the media members for their active role in profiling the sector and at times, making us accountable as we discharge our mandates.

“Water is Life, Sanitation is Dignity”