Cape Town’s dam levels have surged by almost 19 percentage points in just one week following widespread heavy rainfall across the Western Cape.
According to the City’s MMC for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, the Western Cape Water Supply System is now sitting at 67.8% capacity as of 13 May 2026 – up 18.6 percentage points from last week.
Badroodien said several catchment areas recorded exceptionally high rainfall totals between Saturday and Tuesday, with Newlands receiving 263 millimetres of rain over four days, while Wemmershoek recorded 264.5 millimetres – more than double its long-term May average.
Theewaterskloof Dam, the province’s largest dam, climbed from 48.5% to 69.2%, while Berg River Dam increased from 50.8% to 76.7%. Wemmershoek Dam rose sharply from 50.5% to 86.8%.
Badroodien described the increase as the biggest weekly rise in dam storage levels seen in recent years, adding that the City will now revise its water resource status from “Early Drought Caution”.
However, he warned that one week of rain does not eliminate long-term water security concerns.
The South African Weather Service’s latest seasonal outlook predicts below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures for the south-western Cape during the winter rainfall season from May to September.
Badroodien said climate change is making rainfall increasingly unpredictable, with hotter temperatures also increasing evaporation and water loss.
He stressed that the City’s New Water Programme remains critical despite the recent rainfall. The programme aims to deliver an additional 300 million litres of water per day through alternative sources, including desalination, groundwater abstraction and water reuse projects.
Badroodien said the storms this week are “the clearest possible argument” for why Cape Town cannot afford to slow down long-term water resilience projects.
