Cape Town bracing for water shut-off

Cape Town is close to running out of water, as dams serving the city reach critically low levels. Authorities could cut supplies by mid-April, forcing about four million residents to queue for emergency rations

SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town
WESTERN CAPE
Pretoria
300km 200 miles


*Levels as of Jan 26, 2018. Useable water is approximately 10 percent less than dam’s level

Voëlvlei
164 Dam capacity 
Million cubic metres
18.4 Dam level
Percent*

Berg River
Worcester
Paarl
Wemmershoek 59 52.4
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Table Mountain
CAPE TOWN
Stellenbosch
Berg River 130 54.3
Steenbras Upper 32 85.9
Lower 33.5 44.5
Strand
False Bay
Theewaterskloof 480 13.6

20km 12 miles


VOLUME OF WATER STORED IN CAPE TOWN DAMS	Predicted
Million cubic metres
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Jan 26: Dam storage about 27 percent. Residents limited to 50 litres per person per day

April 12 “Day Zero”: Supplies cut if dam storage reaches 13.5 percent. Each resident
allocated 25 litres per day at collection point



Sources: City of Cape Town, Climate Systems Analysis Group 
© GRAPHIC NEWS