Live dashboard · Updated 20 Apr 2026
Western Cape Water Supply System
Vol. 2026 / Week 16
Year-on-year · 2026 vs 2025

The dams
are thirsty.

Cape Town's six major dams are holding just 45.0% of total capacity this week — a steep fall from 62.0% at the same point last year. Rainfall has been below expectations and the city has entered an early-warning drought phase ahead of the 2026 winter rains.

Combined system · 20 Apr 2026
45.0%
404 638 ML stored of 898 221 ML total capacity.
▼ 17.0 pts vs 20 Apr 2025 (62.0%)
Water stored
404.6 Gl
▼ 151.9 Gl vs last year
Weekly change
+0.2pts
▲ Marginal uptick from 44.8% (w15)
Highest dam
58.4%
Steenbras Upper · was 93% in 2025
Lowest dam
36.1%
Steenbras Lower · was 46.7% in 2025

Weekly trend — how the gap widened

System total % · Jan–Apr 2026 vs 2025
Combined storage, week by week
2026 (this year) 2025 (prior year)
The gap between the two years has widened steadily, from a 14-point deficit in mid-February to a 17-point deficit this week. If the trend holds and winter rainfall is average, the city projects storage could drop as low as 40% by May.

Dam-by-dam — all six are down

Current vs same week 2025
Source — City of Cape Town, Dept. of Water & Sanitation, reporting via the Western Cape Water Supply System. Weekly readings consolidated from capetown.gov.za and independent reporting.
Notes — System total is the weighted aggregate across all six dams by stored megalitres ÷ total capacity. Individual dam percentages may diverge from the system total due to differing capacities. Week 16 reading dated 20 Apr 2026.