As Limpopo province has been experiencing hot temperatures in the past weeks, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) calls on all water users to continue using water sparingly and adhere to water restrictions imposed by their respective municipalities.

A weekly report released by the Department of Water and Sanitation reveals that the province’s average dam levels have decreased from 67.8% last week to 66.9% this week.

The provincial average has dropped considerable when you compared to 70.5% during the same period last year. Looking at the summary of Water Management Area (WMA) for Limpopo, they reflects a decline compared to last year this time when water levels were 78.8% compared to the current 68.3%. Olifants is at 65.0%, also showing a decline compared to last year’s 67.8 %, which should alarm Limpopo residents to continue saving water.

The Polokwane Water Supply Systems is at 83.9% showing a slight decline when compared to 85.3% last week, but a considerable increase from last year’s 56.7% during the same period.

The Luvuvhu Water Supply Systems has also slightly declined, sitting at 95.0% from last week’s 95.9%. The Vhembe District area of the province is still in satisfactory state with regard to water storage, with Nandoni Dam currently at 97.54% this week which brings relief to households and farmers in the area.

Read: TZANEEN: Questions arise over construction of dam wall

Ebenezer Dam, which supplies majority of the communities around Polokwane, including Mankweng Hospital and Polokwane Provincial Hospital, and also the University of Limpopo, is currently sitting at 77.62% this week. Tzaneen Dam, supplying water to farmers in the Mopani District with irrigation, continues to decline due to the hot weather conditions in the area, with the dam this week sitting at 27.72% from last week’s 29.15%.

Therefore, the department would like to urge farmers to continue saving water as the percentage in the dam is very alarming, especially as we approach the cultivation season.

Mokolo Dam in Lephalale in the Waterberg District of the province slightly decreased from last week’s 78.09% last week to 77.16% this week and De Hoop Dam which supplies the communities in the Sekhukhune District went down from 87.64% last week to 87.32% this week.

Although the provincial storage is at satisfactory percentage, the province still needs to continue to implement water restrictions so that reliable water provision is sustained until we are satisfied that we have enough water in the storage.

Water is a scarce resource and catalytic towards economic development and it must therefore be conserved at all times.