Dam · Eastern Cape · South Africa · DWS
Debe Dam
93.8% full
Total capacity
6.33 hm³
River
Debe River
Basin
Mzimvubu-Tsitsikamma
Primary use
water supply
Operator
DWS South Africa
Last updated
2026-10-19
Current fill
93.8%vs 7 days ago
+1.7 ppgaining
vs 1 year ago
+50.2 ppyear-over-year
7-day trend
↑rising
Drought context
Rain over the last three months
N/A
No SPI-3 value is on file for Debe Dam. The figure is left blank rather than estimated. South Africa drought figures →
Weekly storage
Fill history — multi-year
About this dam
Data source
official
Storage data: Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) Weekly State of Dams report, South Africa.
About Debe Dam
As of October 19, 2026, Debe Dam is filled to 93.8% of its total capacity, holding 5.9 hm³ of water out of a maximum 6.33 hm³. At this level the reservoir is high.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has risen by 1.7 percentage points, and it is 50.2 points above its level on the same date a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Debe Dam — 20 data points between October 19, 2025 and October 19, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 43.6% (October 19, 2025) to a high of 93.8% (October 19, 2026). On average the reservoir is fullest around September and at its lowest around May.
It is operated by DWS South Africa primarily for water supply. It lies within the Mzimvubu-Tsitsikamma basin.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 93.8% of total capacity
- Water stored
- 5.9 hm³
- Total capacity
- 6.33 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▲ 1.7 pp
- Year-on-year
- ▲ 50.2 pp
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Debe River
- River basin
- Mzimvubu-Tsitsikamma
- Operator
- DWS South Africa
- Last updated
- October 19, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | 93.8% | 5.9 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 92.1% | 5.8 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 92.1% | 5.8 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 88.7% | 5.6 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 74.8% | 4.7 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 60.4% | 3.8 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 62.1% | 3.9 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | 61.6% | 3.9 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | 59.0% | 3.7 |
| 3 Aug 2026 | 58.3% | 3.7 |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 56.8% | 3.6 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | 57.3% | 3.6 |
See also: South Africa dam levels, explained — how the DWS Weekly State of Dams report becomes the national and provincial figures.