KZN rain: Buffalo River widest in years, Newcastle groundwater ‘still depleted’
A pecan farmer in the Newcastle area of KZN provides insight into the effect of the drought and subsequent rains on agriculture.
Buffalo River at Tayside. Picture: Northern KwaZulu-Natal Courier
With continuous rain in the catchment area, the Buffalo River is the widest it has been for many years in the Tayside area, northern KwaZulu-Natal, according to the Northern KwaZulu-Natal Courier.
Some low-level bridges were under water on Sunday, and police reported that Landman’s Drift was impassable.
The river is looking wider than it has done for many years at Tayside, a popular fishing spot.
Watch the Northern KwaZulu-Natal Courier‘s video here:
In Ladysmith, the Klip River is fast flowing, and on Saturday morning, it is believed that one of three boys who were playing on the riverbank in Steadville fell into the water and was washed away before the other boys could save him, reports the Ladysmith Gazette.
Public Safety, the K9 Rescue Team, Sharaj Ambulance Services and ER24 were on scene on Saturday and Sunday. By Monday afternoon it was not yet clear as to whether the boy had been rescued.
ALSO READ: Flooding strikes Newcastle, Ladysmith and Glencoe in KZN
In Newcastle, recent rains have been heaven-sent for residents in the area, and Normandien pecan farmer Craig Petersen provided insight into the effect of the drought and subsequent rains on agriculture, reports the Newcastle Advertiser.
In his words, farmers were generally very sensitive to water usage.
“[They] would have reduced domestic and agricultural usage to a minimum.”
On Petersen’s farm, Norseland, which is a few kilometres outside the town of Newcastle towards Normandien, a borehole was used for domestic requirements. Yet even the underground water suffered the drought.
“The levels were dropping at an alarming rate with my neighbour’s even running dry.”
To counter fears that his own borehole would peter out, Petersen ran piping from an old quarry on the farm which filled with drinking water. This was done purely as a precaution.
From a crop perspective, he said local farmers adapted planting patterns and varied the level of planting to try and match the anticipated rainfall.
“The well-below average rainfall over the last three years has been very challenging from a pecan tree orchard perspective, and we have lost a large number of young trees as a result thereof.”
Petersen said even a 15 000 litre water tanker truck was not sufficient without supplementation by good rains.
For this reason, he planted no trees in the 2015 season.
ALSO READ: Streets and homes flooded in Newcastle
While dams were filling and the grass grew green, Petersen cautioned that the groundwater was still severely depleted as evidenced by the lack of springs and low borehole levels.
However, weather experts agree there will be above average rainfall at the end of the season.
“This will certainly help to restore some groundwater but may pose a problem for crop farmers, as the lands may be too muddy to get harvesting machinery in.”
– Caxton News Service
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