Theewaterskloof Dam 4.44

Theewaterskloof Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on the Sonderend River near Villiersdorp, Western Cape, South Africa. Administratively it is located within Theewaterskloof Local Municipality. It was established in 1978 and forms a major component of the Western Cape Water Supply System. The dam mainly serves for municipal and industrial use as well as for irrigation purposes. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high (3).It is the largest of the 6 major dams in the Western Cape with a capacity of 480 188 million litres. 8 minor dams also contribute to dam levels supplying water to province. The dam stores about 41% of the water stored for cape town city council.A dry period of rain in 2017 saw the levels drop to 12.9%.3 water extraction towers are in operation, one for drinking water and the other two for municipal and irrigation. thumbWater restrictionsA heavy rain event in June 2017 saw an increase in the catchment areas and level increased to over 15%. The last 10% is mostly unusable. Water restrictions by provincial government to meet a target of 600 million litres of water per day were introduced in 2016. Currently, residents are restricted to 100 litres of water per day with car washing, pool level filling and lawn watering not allowed.The City of Cape Town Council increased the water restriction level from 4 to 4b, on 1 July 2017, encouraging water users to utilise no more than 87 litres of water per person per day.