The Department of Water and Sanitation said a new dam along the Crocodile River, in the City of Mbombela, is in the planning stage.

Department spokesman Sputnik Ratau said water resource reconciliation and planning will be completed by 2020.

“The department is busy with the reconciliation of water demand in the City of Mbombela, looking at water resource availability in the catchment that supplies it. We are also looking at demand per sector, which is the irrigation (for agriculture) sector, the domestic sector and the environment.

“The location of the dam and other advanced planning will be determined by the outcomes of the water resource reconciliation and planning that we are currently doing,” Ratau explained.

ALSO READ: MTPA is mismanaged according to report

Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane announced the construction during her State of the Province Address last month.
Mtshweni-Tsipane said the dam will boost the current supply of water to meet the demand of the growing population in Ehlanzeni.

According to the department’s weekly state of reservoirs report, dated August 12, indications are that water levels in Mpumalanga continue to drop, with only Klipkoppie Dam recording a slight 0,7 per cent increase from last week’s
38 per cent.

ALSO READ: UPDATE: Parts of White River still without water

The report also shows that the Kwena Dam, which is a strategic supplier to the capital, Mbombela, is steadily dropping towards the 50 per cent mark, as it dropped from 52,1 per cent to 51,1 per cent over the week.

According to the weekly report, the provincial average in terms of water in storage, the water levels dropped from
68,2 per cent to 67,6 per cent, with Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency’s area dropping from 71,7 per cent to 71,1 per cent.