Cape Town dam levels recover to 30% after higher May rainfall

Dam levels in reservoirs serving the drought-hit South African city of Cape Town jumped by 5.8 percentage points last week after rainfall in May exceeded year-earlier figures and as residents continued to endure strict curbs on water use.

The dams were 29.8% full as of Monday, compared with 24% a week earlier, and 19.6% at the same stage in 2017. The level crept up to 30.4% on Tuesday, the city said in postings on its website. Three years ago, it was at 79%.

May’s rainfall of 216.3 millimeters (8.5 inches) was close to the long-term average, city authorities said in a statement. Residents still aren’t meeting a target of reducing daily consumption to 450 million liters (119 million gallons), using 530 million liters daily last week, an increase of 5% on the previous week.

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Source: moneyweb.co.za