Water levels at Grootdraai Dam in Standerton stand at 97.1%

The water volumes of the dams in the Gert Sibande District have dropped.

According to a media statement by the Department of Water and Sanitation, most of the listed dams recorded drops in water volumes in the past week. However, they remain at comfortable levels and above the average storage capacity mark.

Water levels in the district dropped from 99.1% to 98.5%.

For the listed dams, Grootdraai Dam dropped from 98.6% to 97.1%, Nooitgedacht from 98.5% to 97.7%, Jericho from 94.6% to 93.5%, Westoe from 93.3% to 91.0% and Morgenstond from 100.2% to 100.0%.

The only dam to record an improvement was Vygeboom Dam, increasing from 100.4% to 100.7%, while Heyshope Dam remained unchanged at 100.5%.

The dams in Mpumalanga recorded an average drop from 98.8% to 98.5%.

The Water Management Areas (WMA) also recorded declines in water levels, with the Olifants WMA dropping from 89.7% to 89.5% and the Inkomati-Usuthu WMA dropping from 99.7% to 99.6%.

According to the statement, a drop in water levels is expected at this time of the year because of minimal rainfall in this part of the country.

The department encouraged the public to be responsible, conservative water users and to use the available water wisely and sparingly, bearing in mind that South Africa is a water-scarce country.

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