Onderberg farmers face irrigation restrictions
The irrigation board requested Onderbergers use water sparingly, as there are still water restrictions in towns as well.
Despite good rain over the past few weeks, the flow of the Crocodile River remains low. To curb this shortage, a 33 per cent allocation has been put into place since Monday.
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A technical and operations committee will monitor water usage on a daily basis. They then determine what percentage of irrigation usage will be allocated.
A contributing factor to this shortage is the extreme heat currently being experienced in the area.
Over the previous two weeks, farmers have had 100% allocation. The Crocodile Irrigation Board (CIB), situated in Malalane, requested the farmers fill their dams so they can irrigate their land from there. One of the CIB’s objectives is to manage and distribute water from the Crocodile River to agriculture and urban users in the Onderberg.
A 33% allocation has been put into place since Monday this week. This means that the farmers are allowed to use 33 per cent of their usual allocation in a period of 7 days.
According to the CIB, the river levels have dropped dramatically due to the extreme heat. In certain parts in the Crocodile River sand sucks up the water, which then surfaces again further down.
The Inkomati Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) and all the various stakeholders, including the CIB, are monitoring the situation closely.
At the time of going to press, a full stop on irrigation had not been announced. “We are optimistic for rain later this week and the water is still flowing into the Crocodile,” said Nancy O’Farrell, from the CIB.
The irrigation board requested Onderbergers use water sparingly, as there are still water restrictions in towns as well.
