Dam · Western Cape · South Africa · DWS
Wemmershoek Dam
82.3% full
Total capacity
58.8 hm³
River
Wemmershoek
Basin
Breede-Olifants
Primary use
water supply
Operator
City of Cape Town
Coordinates
33.883°S, 19.050°E
Last updated
2026-10-19
Current fill
82.3%vs 7 days ago
-2.3 pplosing
vs 1 year ago
-3.1 ppyear-over-year
7-day trend
↓falling
Drought context
Rain over the last three months · 11 October 2026
Extremely dry
In the three months to 11 October 2026 the area around Wemmershoek Dam had extremely little rain for the season, a shortfall seen about one year in forty. Rainfall compared with the long-run record for the same season at this point (Copernicus Global Drought Observatory, SPI-3 index −2.26). Rain, not storage. South Africa drought figures →
Weekly storage
Fill history — multi-year
About this dam
Dam height
52 m
Year built
1957
Dam type
Gravity
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. 33.883°S, 19.050°E · Open in Google Maps
About Wemmershoek Dam
As of October 19, 2026, Wemmershoek Dam is filled to 82.3% of its total capacity, holding 48.4 hm³ of water out of a maximum 58.8 hm³. At this level the reservoir is high.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has fallen by 2.3 percentage points, and it is 3.1 points below its level on the same date a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Wemmershoek Dam — 21 data points between October 19, 2025 and October 19, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 82.3% (October 19, 2026) to a high of 100.0% (June 29, 2026). On average the reservoir is fullest around July and at its lowest around October.
The dam at Wemmershoek Dam stands 52 m tall and is a gravity dam and was completed in 1957. It is operated by City of Cape Town primarily for water supply. It lies within the Breede-Olifants basin at 33.883°S, 19.050°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 82.3% of total capacity
- Water stored
- 48.4 hm³
- Total capacity
- 58.8 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▼ 2.3 pp
- Year-on-year
- ▼ 3.1 pp
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Wemmershoek
- River basin
- Breede-Olifants
- Dam height
- 52 m
- Year completed
- 1957
- Operator
- City of Cape Town
- Coordinates
- 33.883°S, 19.050°E
- Last updated
- October 19, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | 82.3% | 48.4 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 84.6% | 49.7 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 86.7% | 51 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 88.7% | 52.2 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 89.7% | 52.7 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 93.1% | 54.7 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 95.1% | 55.8 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | 97.0% | 56.9 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | 98.1% | 57.6 |
| 3 Aug 2026 | 99.3% | 58.3 |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 100.0% | 58.7 |
| 6 Jul 2026 | 99.9% | 58.7 |
Nearby reservoirs
See also: South Africa dam levels, explained — how the DWS Weekly State of Dams report becomes the national and provincial figures.