Heavy rain, floods expected over Cape Metropole, Winelands

File picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency (ANA)

File picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Apr 23, 2018

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Cape Town - For the first time in more than a year, Cape Town is predicted to see significant rainfall this week.

Heavy rain leading to localised flooding is expected over the Cape Metropole, Cape Winelands and western parts of the Overberg district on Monday into Tuesday morning.

Cape Town Weather Office Forecaster Thabisile Ntleko said a cold front was expected to pass over the Cape on Monday afternoon, bringing rain to the western parts of the province.

“Rain amounts between 5mm to 20mm can be expected, with the mountainous areas possibly reaching between 25mm and 35mm. Strong and gusting winds can be expected over the central and eastern interior ahead of the cold front,” Ntleko said.

Wind speeds between 45km/* and 55km/* are expected over the southern parts of the Namakwa District, Central Karoo, as well as in places over the Breede River Valley today.

Rain should clear during the course of Tuesday morning.

“A cut-off low is expected to affect the western parts of the Western Cape on Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, where expected rainfall amounts may again be in the region of 5mm to 20mm,” Ntleko said.

Rain is expected to clear during the course of Tuesday afternoon.

Another weak cold front will brush the south-western parts of the Western Cape on Friday evening, where rainfall amounts of 1mm to 5mm can be expected.

“Rain is expected to spread to the south coast and adjacent interior during the course of Saturday morning, clearing in the afternoon,” Ntleko said.

As of April 20, dam levels stand at 20.3%. The City’s water usage stands at 542 million litres a day, above the target of 450 million litres a day.

Meanwhile, the Drakenstein Municipality will assist the Department of Water in patrolling the Berg River.

This after images surfaced last week allegedly showing illegal pumping of Berg River water and the use of sandbags to redirect water meant for domestic and industrial use into private dams for local farmers.

The department released up to 5 million cubic metres of water from the Voëlvlei and Berg River dams to the Misverstand Dam last week to supply municipalities on the West Coast with water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use.

In a statement, the Drakenstein Municipality said its law enforcement had obtained temporary Blue Scorpion status and were now empowered to enter farms and remove or confiscate illegal equipment used to redirect water.

This came after a request for co-operation by the West Coast District Municipality to the municipalities of Drakenstein, Swartland, Berg River, Saldanha Bay and Stellenbosch for the protection of water sources.

Earlier this year, the department opened a criminal case against Tierhoek Boerdery in Wildschutskraal-Clanwilliam after conducting its first “enforcement and monitoring blitz” in the West Coast region in 2017.

The farmer faced five charges which included failure to meet the requirements for issuance of a licence before constructing a dam with safety risk, allegedly contravening Section 49A of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 by developing infrastructure for the off-stream storage of water.

Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the matter would be dealt with by the department. “Any person found to have acted foul by using obstructions that go against the National Water Act or against any regulations will be proceeded against.

“An inspection would be done and actions would follow.”

According to the City’s Water Outlook 2018 report, as of last month, augmentation schemes including the harnessing of the Cape Flats aquifer, set to deliver ±80 million litres a day, have been under way.

Cape Times

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