Giyani faces water crisis as dam levels drop amid drought

LIMPOPO – The community of Giyani is grappling with a worsening crisis as water levels in the Nsami Dam continue to dwindle, raising serious concerns about an impending water shortage.

With no significant rainfall in sight, the municipality is facing the harsh realities of a prolonged drought that threatens the primary water source for thousands of residents.

During a rain prayer session organised by the Greater Giyani Municipality (GGM) in collaboration with several local pastors, Molly Maluleke from the Department of Water and Sanitation painted a grim picture of the water crisis in Giyani and the district as a whole.

“Currently, 86% of dams in Limpopo hold less water compared to the same period last year,” Maluleke stated. “The Nsami Dam, currently at 11.06%, is one of the dams at the lowest levels in the district. The Middle Letaba Dam, which usually supplies water to Nsami Dam, is at a mere 0.7%.”

Maluleke explained that the water level at Middle Letaba Dam has dropped below the gauge plate, making it impossible to determine the actual level. Consequently, the dam has stopped supplying water to Nsami Dam.

She added that the dam, which has a plant capable of producing 36 megalitres of water per day, now only produces 2.2 megalitres daily for the surrounding communities, including villages such as Phikela, Shimawusa, Nhlaniki, and Ntshuxi. However, even in these areas, water is only accessible to communities in the low-lying regions on specific days.

The situation is further exacerbated by the farming conglomerate ZZ2, which has responded with legal action when asked to demolish some of its dams found to be unlawful during an investigation. These dams were intercepting water meant for the Middle Letaba Dam.

“The report revealed that ZZ2 owns both lawful and unlawful dams. The unlawful dams were intercepting water meant for the Middle Letaba Dam. ZZ2 was asked to demolish them, but they responded through lawyers. The legal process takes time, and this issue cannot be resolved quickly,” Maluleke explained.

She also emphasised the critical situation at Nsami Dam. The Department of Water and Sanitation has issued a directive to the Mopani Water Board to cease water extraction from the dam once its level drops to 6% to conserve the remaining supply for animals and plants living in it.

“The department has advised Mopani to stop extracting water from the dam once the water level drops to 6% to protect the flora and fauna,” Maluleke said.

The Nsami Dam now largely relies on water from the Nandoni pipeline because the water level is so low that pumps can no longer extract it directly. However, the Nandoni pipeline was never designed to provide water on a full-time basis, as it was intended solely as a drought relief measure.

“We are not permitted to pump water from the pipeline every day because it is designated as a drought relief pipeline. Many of us only learned about this restriction after the project was completed. The pipeline is designed to deliver just 15 million litres of water per day,” Maluleke explained.

Meanwhile, Gezani Maluleke, the head of Water and Sanitation at the GGM, echoed these concerns about the severe drought in Giyani. “This morning, my aged mother told me that another cow had succumbed to the drought. A herdsman informed her that one of my cows was dead,” he said, emphasising the urgent need for rain to save their livestock.

“This year alone, I have lost eight cows. The drought is so severe that even villages that traditionally relied on borehole water are now surviving on just one or two functional boreholes because there is no water left underground,” he added.

The community continues to hope for rain.