Cape Town Dam Levels — Theewaterskloof, Voëlvlei, Berg River, Wemmershoek and Steenbras combined storage is 77% as of 9 July 2026.

Healthy
Official stat — 9 July 2026
77%
Source · City of Cape Town daily reading
The Outlook

Some rain creeps in by Wednesday.

The week ahead is mostly dry, but a light fall is building late in the week, more than yesterday's forecast showed. The dams are in good shape going into it.

vs last year
−1%
Last seen this low
Jul 2025
Rain outlook · 7 days Updated 18:08
  • Thu —
  • Fri —
  • Sat —
  • Sun —
  • Mon —
  • Tue —
  • Wed <1mm
Cape Town dam basin cross-section A bowl-shaped cross-section of combined dam storage. Current level is 77.1%. The seasonal-normal reference line — where levels typically sit at this point in the calendar — is at 66%, and the Day Zero threshold at 13.5%. SEASONAL NORMAL — 66% TYPICAL FOR EARLY JULY NOW — 77.1% HEALTHY DAY ZERO — 13.5% CITY 2018 OPERATIONAL TRIGGER FULL 100% ↑ ↓ EMPTY 0% 100% 77% 66% 13.5% 0%
  • Normal 66%
  • Now 77.1%
  • Day Zero 13.5%
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capetowndamlevels.co.za Updated 06 Jul 2026
The system in six readings

July is off to a quiet start.
And the week ahead looks lean.

What just fell, what just left the tap, and what the sky is bringing next — read in pairs, as cause and effect.

01 Supply — What came in
01 Rainfall · July · 3 stations · as of 2026-07-09

Well below a
typical July so far.

0.2× normal so far
this July so far typical first 9 days of July
Theewaterskloof 7mm · 0.2×
Voëlvlei 7mm · 0.2×
Wemmershoek 9mm · 0.1×

Verdict Well below a typical July through day 9.

02 Storage · 6 dams combined

The dams felt it —
up 2.2 points.

77% was 75% last week
8-week trend +2.2 pts
04 May 2026 06 Jul 2026

Verdict Healthy — well above the trigger band for restrictions.

02 Demand — What went out
03 Daily demand · vs target

The city is using
less than expected.

874Mℓ 101 Mℓ under target
Used today Target 975 Mℓ

Verdict 10% below the daily target — the kind of week that buys headroom.

04 Per person · ℓ/day · 12-mo avg

11 litres less,
per Capetonian.

149ℓ/day −11 ℓ vs trailing avg
Trailing 12-month average
0 ℓ 200 ℓ

Verdict A small but real saving — sustained, this is what shaves a percentage point off summer drawdown.

03 Forecast — What's coming next
05 Forecast · 7 days · 6 catchments

A drier-than-typical
week ahead.

0.0× normal

vs the same 7 calendar days averaged across the past 10 years

Day-by-day · mm 1 mm vs typical 38 mm (~5.4 mm/day)
0
Thu
0
Fri
0
Sat
0
Sun
0
Mon
0
Tue
1
Wed

Verdict Wed looks like the wettest day.

06 Where it lands · per catchment

Each dam, and
what's coming for it.

0.0× a typical week

total forecast across the six catchments vs the same 7 calendar days over the past 10 years, weighted by dam size

Each dam · % full now below 60% 60%+ safe 75% comfortable
Theewaterskloof 78% +1mm .04× normal
Voëlvlei 61% +0mm —
Berg River 85% +0mm —
Wemmershoek 100% +0mm —
Steenbras Upper 103% +2mm .04× normal
Steenbras Lower 54% +1mm .03× normal

Verdict Steenbras Upper (103% full) and Theewaterskloof (78% full) get the biggest soaking.

Looking ahead Two soaking weeks back-to-back is the kind of run that meaningfully shifts the August curve. The next reading will tell us how much of it stuck.

updated daily · 07:00 SAST What is El Niño?
Day Zero predictor — move the sliders

What if?

Pick a rainfall scenario and drag the consumption fader. Pin one configuration and overlay another to compare. The model runs a thousand simulated years against Cape Town's seasonal pattern and shows when the system would empty.

Rainfall scenario
Daily consumption850ML/day
600 · drought-era1200 · unrestricted
about today's usage
Projected combined storageMedian · 25–75 band · 1,000 runs
100%75%50%25%0%JUL 26OCTJAN 27APRJULTODAY · 77%
What this means

Storage stays comfortable — 46% at the low.

Inflow outruns withdrawal at this scenario; the system finishes the simulation higher than it started.

Monthly storage · median path
Aug 26
83%
Sep
83%
Oct
79%
Nov
76%
Dec
71%
Jan 27
65%
Feb
59%
Mar
52%
Apr
49%
May
46%
Jun
51%
Jul
60%
Aug
66%
Sep
65%
Open the full predictor — framing, methodology & limits → Day Zero in Cape Town, explained →
Theewaterskloof — drag to compare

The same dam, two moments.

Sentinel-2 satellite imagery of Theewaterskloof, which holds more than half the system's capacity. On the left: May 2018, at the edge of Day Zero. On the right: today.

May 2018 · system at 21.4%
June 2026 · system at 44.7%
May 2018 · system at 21.4%
June 2026 · system at 44.7%
Exposed lakebed · total capacity reachCurrent water
Explore the full Theewaterskloof deep-dive → Theewaterskloof dam level, tracked →
Every dam in the system

The six dams that supply Cape Town

Cape Town gets virtually all its water from six major dams in the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS). Theewaterskloof alone holds more than half the total capacity; the smaller Steenbras pair sit closest to the city. Today the combined system is at 77.1%.

Per-dam figures below — 9 July 2026 · Source: City of Cape Town daily reading · how this data is collected

Western Cape dam levels → Day Zero predictor → Cape Town's water future → How to save water → Why demand matters → What is El Niño? → El Niño 2026 and the dams → Cape Town rainfall by month → The Cape Town drought, a data case study → Cape Town water supply disruptions → South Africa overview → Data sources →
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