After the drought: Cape Town’s gushing water
Berg River’s sluice open, as dams fill up
The Berg River Dam, which can hold 14% of Cape Town’s water capacity, is full, so the sluice has been opened. Photo: Nathan Geffen
In May 2017 we took photos of Cape Town’s dam levels at the height of the drought. This is what the Berg River looked like then:
Berg River Dam in May 2017. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks
And this is what it looked like on Saturday:
The dam is full and water is being released through a sluice gate. Photo: Faizel Slamang
And below is what Theewaterskloof, which can hold more than half of Cape Town’s water at capacity, looked like in 2017:
Theewaterskloof Dam in May 2017. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks
This is a particularly haunting photo from May 2017, showing how the retreating water levels left dying trees behind. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
It is now 95% full.
Theewaterskloof Dam in September 2020. Photo: Nathan Geffen
As of Monday, the Berg River dam and both Steenbras dams are full. Theewaterskloof, Voëlvlei and Wemmershoek are all well over 90%. The dam levels are at 96% of their total capacity, by far the fullest they have been in at least five years (source: City of Cape Town’s weekly dam report).
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