Minister Anton Bredell urges the public to save water as dam levels continue to drop during hot and dry summer weather

Issued on behalf of the Western Cape Ministry for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.

16 January 2023

Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning today supported the City of Cape Town’s recent call to the public to use water sparingly. “All Western Cape residents must help to conserve the water available in our dams as we continue to experience a hot and dry summer. Weather patterns are increasingly unpredictable, so we cannot assume there will be plentiful rain in the next winter season. The best strategy is to adopt a permanent water-saving culture.”

Bredell was reacting to the latest data released by the Department of Water and Sanitation, showing a current combined Western Cape dam level of 57.79%. This is down from 59.57% last week. In terms of the dams supplying Cape Town, it is at a combined level of 65.16%, also down from 67.12% last week. Compared to the same time last year, the provincial combined dam level was 74.51%, and for the Cape Town dam system it was 90.64%.

Minister Bredell said the link between water availability and current high levels of load shedding is compounding the challenges many municipalities are facing to provide uninterrupted water and sewage services to residents. “Without rain in our catchment dams, there is no water security, and without reliable electricity, it becomes very difficult to purify and deliver water to household taps. Also, without electricity, it is a challenge to remove and treat wastewater in a hygienic and environmentally safe manner. We are therefore urging the public to save water, as this will improve our water security profile, while also helping municipalities to manage water and sewage services during increasingly high levels and prolonged periods of load shedding.”

Issued by Corporate Communication, Department of the Premier