While dam levels in Cape Town have improved significantly, water remains a critical issue in the Western Cape. According to Sputnik Ratau, spokesman for the department of water and sanitation, the average water levels in the province have decreased in recent weeks. At the time of going to print they had dropped from 62.6 to 61.3% in a single week. This was despite light rains in some parts of the province, a clear indication that it was not yielding significant inflows to the catchments. Concern for the Klein Karoo area was high, said Ratau. Supplied by the Calitzdorp Dam, the area has seen a consistent decline in water levels with
the dam sitting at well below 10%. “The Karoo by nature is particularly dry and of great concern is the higher water losses for Beaufort West and Laingsburg local municipalities. Interventions should be geared towards curbing water losses,” said Ratau. There have been conflicting reports about the water shortages in the Klein Karoo, especially Beaufort West, with some saying the town was ready to declare Day Zero. The Western Cape government, however, maintains there is still a sufficient supply of piped water, but it has reiterated its call for communities across the province, not just the Karoo, to continue to reduce water consumption and use the resource as
sparingly as possible. In Cape Town itself restrictions remained on a fairly strict drought recovery level. All of this illustrates that the province is not out of the woods yet and that water – or the lack thereof – will continue to affect the economy for some time to come.
