Water levels demonstrated steady improvement over the past week.
Cape Town’s major water reservoirs reached 92.5% of total capacity on September 3, 2025, signaling strong water security for the metropolitan area and surrounding regions.
The city of Cape Town and the national department of water and sanitation monitor dam levels daily to determine water availability and assess whether restrictions are necessary for residents and businesses.
The Western Cape Water Supply System, which serves Cape Town and extends to towns in the Overberg, Boland, West Coast and Swartland areas, showed significant water reserves across all major dams.
The dams in and around Cape Town form part of the Western Cape Water Supply System, which is an integrated and collectively managed system of dams, pump stations, pipelines and tunnels.
Current storage levels exceed expectations
Six major dams in the system continue demonstrating healthy water levels, with several exceeding full capacity.
Berg River dam reached 100% capacity, while Steenbras Lower registered 100.3% and Steenbras Upper recorded an exceptional 101.9% of capacity.
Theewaterskloof, the largest dam in the system with a capacity of 480 188 megalitres, stood at 86.9% full.
Voëlvlei dam reached near-capacity at 99.5% and Wemmershoek dam recorded 92.5% of its total storage capacity.
The combined storage across all major dams totaled 830 846 megalitres out of a maximum capacity of 898 221 megalitres.
“Because each dam size is different, the best indicator of overall dam water levels is the total quantity stored expressed as a percentage of total dam capacity,” the city said.
ALSO READ: Here’s Cape Town’s Eskom load reduction schedule for the week
Weekly improvements show positive trend
Water levels demonstrated steady improvement over the past week.
Total stored water increased from 824 770 megalitres on the previous week to 831 808 megalitres by 1 September 2025, representing a rise from 91.8% to 92.6% of total capacity.
Most individual dams showed weekly gains. Voëlvlei increased from 97.2% to 99.5% capacity. Theewaterskloof rose from 86.2% to 87% over the same period.
Meanwhile, Berg River declined slightly from 100.9% to 100.1%, while Wemmershoek dropped marginally from 93.3% to 93%.
Steenbras Upper increased from 100.7% to 102.2%, and Steenbras Lower rose from 100.2% to 100.4%.
Year-on-year comparison reveals mixed picture
Compared to the same period in 2024, current dam levels present a varied scenario.
Total system storage stood at 928 473 megalitres in 2024, representing 103.4% of capacity, compared to 92.6% this year.
Several individual dams recorded higher levels last year. Berg River maintained 100.7% capacity in 2024 compared to the current levels of 100.1%.
Steenbras Lower reached 101.8% last year versus 100.4% currently, while Steenbras Upper registered 102.6% in 2024 against today’s 102.2%.
Theewaterskloof showed the most year-on-year decline, dropping from 104.9% in 2024 to its current levels of 87%.
Voëlvlei fell from 103.4% last year to 99.5% currently, while Wemmershoek decreased from 100% in 2024 to 93% this year.
READ NEXT: Court grants Cape Town permission to evict foreigners ‘demanding’ relocation to Canada
