Dam levels across Cape Town and the wider Western Cape Water Supply System have continued to edge downward, underscoring the pressure on the region’s water resources during the summer period.
According to the City of Cape Town, total storage for the week updated on Monday, 12 January 2026 stood at 66.8% of capacity, down from 69.1% the previous week.
The municipality reported that this represents 599 963 megalitres of water currently stored, compared with 620 888 megalitres a week earlier and 776 845 megalitres at the same point in 2025.
The city said authorities monitor these levels to determine water availability for the region and assess whether restrictions are necessary for residents and businesses.
“The dam levels are critical for Cape Town’s water supply.”
Performance of major dams
Most of the major dams supplying the metro recorded modest declines over the reporting period.
The Berg River Dam dropped from 71.2% to 68.7% this week. Last year, around the same period, the dam stood at 87.9%.
Meanwhile, Theewaterskloof, the system’s largest dam, fell from 63.8% to 61.4%.
Theewaterskloof has a full supply capacity of 480 188 megalitres. Last year, in the same period, it stood at a higher rate at 86.2%.
Steenbras Lower and Steenbras Upper also slipped slightly, measuring 63.9% and 86.1% respectively, compared with 64.9% and 87.0% the previous week.
Both dams held higher capacities at the same point last year, standing at 79.7% and 97.1% respectively.
Voëlvlei declined to 76.0%, a slight decrease from 78.9% last week, and 87.5% last year.
Wemmershoek also declined to 72.1%, dropping from 73.1% last week and 81.0% last year.
The City of Cape Town stressed that individual dam percentages can be misleading because capacities vary.
“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 explained.
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Latest daily readings confirm downward trend
More recent daily readings for Tuesday, 13 January 2026 reinforce the weekly picture.
On that date, overall system storage was measured at 66.3%, equivalent to 595 417 megalitres out of a combined full capacity of 898 221 megalitres.
The city confirmed that the dams recorded the following levels:
- Berg River Dam stood at 68.4%,
- Theewaterskloof at 61.1%,
- Voëlvlei at 74.8% and
- Wemmershoek at 71.9%,
- Steenbras Lower and Upper measured 63.4% and 84.5%, respectively.
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