Rain and storm for Cpt

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bees said:
Whatever he catches in the dam around the braai
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LOL, it's not Theewaterskloof, only 2-3cm deep! It is a reminder that half of Cape Town used to be seasonal wetlands in winter. Lots of stormwater drains, concrete canals, and raised house foundations have made it habitable. If you walk in any sportsfield, or Rondebosch Common, you will find it is very muddy. It's a long time since we have had a sustained wet spell, but all the same spots get flooded every time (unless you dump tons of topsoil in the low-lying areas).

See: http://planet.botany.uwc.ac.za/nisl/bdc321/ekapa cape towns lowlands/module2/wetlands.htm
- In the lowlands of Cape Town there used to be many marsh and floodplain wetlands known as “vleis”. In the past, most of these wetlands were seasonal – flooded in winter but dry in summer.
- Sand is usually well drained, so how did these wetlands form in the sandy soil of Cape Town’s lowlands? In many parts of the city there are layers of rock (calcrete, ferricrete or silcrete) under the sand. The rock prevents the water from soaking away, causing it to form pools when it rains.
- Urban development has changed Cape Town’s wetlands radically. Many small wetlands have been drained or filled in, while others have become permanent lakes because they receive large volumes of water from storm-water drains, e.g. Zeekoevlei and Princessvlei.
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Gordon_R said:
LOL, it's not Theewaterskloof, only 2-3cm deep! It is a reminder that half of Cape Town used to be seasonal wetlands in winter. Lots of stormwater drains, concrete canals, and raised house foundations have made it habitable. If you walk in any sportsfield, or Rondebosch Common, you will find it is very muddy. It's a long time since we have had a sustained wet spell, but all the same spots get flooded every time (unless you dump tons of topsoil in the low-lying areas).

See: http://planet.botany.uwc.ac.za/nisl/bdc321/ekapa cape towns lowlands/module2/wetlands.htm
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Isn't where the castle is used to be the shoreline, and now all the land from there to the waterfront reclaimed land?
 
wingnut771 said:
Isn't where the castle is used to be the shoreline, and now all the land from there to the waterfront reclaimed land?
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The Castle and the Foreshore and harbour coastal reclamation development is true, but an entirely different issue from wetlands. Strand Street literally used to be on the beachfront, now it is 1.5km from the sea.

Anyone seriously interested in the rivers and wetlands of Cape Town should read this book. It was published as a limited edition (I have a print copy, since a handful of my photos were used). The full text and images can be downloaded as a free PDF from the publishers:

Rivers and Wetlands of Cape Town (the book)

Click here to Download The Full Book in PDF format from Dropbox https://journals.co.za/content/civeng/18/7/EJC26383
southernwaters.co.za
 
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Gordon_R said:
I just checked the link 5 mins ago, must have just updated. Still waiting for CoCT to update: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family and home/residential-utility-services/residential-water-and-sanitation-services/this-weeks-dam-levels

Pretty amazing chart for TWK:

View attachment 1101311
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I got the 95.77% from a WhatsApp message by the general manager at the sailing club there. I have often seen discrepencies from his numbers and what is published online. So I am not sure how many measuring instruments are actually out there and who is reading them
 
I'm starting to wonder if Theewater's capacity is being calculated with AngieM's maths!:)
Great news!
 
Pineapple Smurf said:
Theewaterskloof is 95.8%

City of Cape Town Link

Sharing a City of Cape Town Page...
www.capetown.gov.za
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I was also interested in the rise of the average for CoCT for the past week: Up 13.8% to 89.2% on 5 July!! That is incredible, quite a wet week...

air said:
@Gordon_R, any idea why coct reporting for Voelvlei lags fairly significantly to https://www.dws.gov.za/Hydrology/Unverified/UnverifiedDataFlowInfo.aspx
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Voelvlei is always an odd one. It's not in a river basin, but is a natural wetland fed by a canal from the Little Berg River that comes down from Ceres. The capacity is kinda arbitrary, since it has no natural outflow.

P.S. The Clanwilliam Dam is at 74%, up from 22% a week ago (that is not a typo).
 
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Yeah Voelvlei is a weird one indeed
I always check it out when I drive past
Only has a catchment area from 1 side, unlike most dams that have 2 or 3 or 4 sides.
 
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