Dam · Western Cape · South Africa · DWS
Garden Route Dam
99.4% full
Total capacity
12.42 hm³
River
Swart River
Basin
Breede-Olifants
Primary use
water supply
Operator
DWS South Africa
Coordinates
33.964°S, 22.514°E
Last updated
2026-10-19
Current fill
99.4%vs 7 days ago
+0.1 ppgaining
vs 1 year ago
+39.1 ppyear-over-year
7-day trend
→stable
Drought context
Rain over the last three months · 11 October 2026
Near normal
In the three months to 11 October 2026 the area around Garden Route Dam had rain close to normal for the season. Rainfall compared with the long-run record for the same season at this point (Copernicus Global Drought Observatory, SPI-3 index +0.63). Rain, not storage. 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.
Catchment Weather
Past 30 days + 14-day forecast · Open-Meteo
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics. Map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors. 33.964°S, 22.514°E · Open in Google Maps
About Garden Route Dam
As of October 19, 2026, Garden Route Dam is filled to 99.4% of its total capacity, holding 12.3 hm³ of water out of a maximum 12.42 hm³. At this level the reservoir is high.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has held broadly steady (+0.1 pp), and it is 39.1 points above its level on the same date a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Garden Route Dam — 20 data points between October 19, 2025 and October 19, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 60.3% (October 19, 2025) to a high of 100.0% (June 9, 2026). On average the reservoir is fullest around September and at its lowest around October.
It is operated by DWS South Africa primarily for water supply. It lies within the Breede-Olifants basin at 33.964°S, 22.514°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 99.4% of total capacity
- Water stored
- 12.3 hm³
- Total capacity
- 12.42 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▲ 0.1 pp
- Year-on-year
- ▲ 39.1 pp
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Swart River
- River basin
- Breede-Olifants
- Operator
- DWS South Africa
- Coordinates
- 33.964°S, 22.514°E
- Last updated
- October 19, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | 99.4% | 12.3 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 99.3% | 12.3 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 100.0% | 12.4 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 100.0% | 12.4 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 100.0% | 12.4 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 99.2% | 12.3 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 99.9% | 12.4 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | 99.7% | 12.4 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | 99.0% | 12.3 |
| 3 Aug 2026 | 95.3% | 11.8 |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 94.6% | 11.7 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | 99.4% | 12.3 |
Nearby reservoirs
See also: South Africa dam levels, explained — how the DWS Weekly State of Dams report becomes the national and provincial figures.