South Africans urged to reduce water consumption

SEDIBENG.- The Department of Water and Sanitation has said that the national water storage in the country continues to dwindle at a low of 59.2% compared to 64.1% during the same period last year.
DWS said that South Africa’s full water capacity is about 32012.2 cubic metres, and currently we are left with 18950.7 cubic metres of water. The dam levels report released by the DWS this week, demonstrates that some parts of the country are yet to recover from the devastating drought experienced in 2014 and continue to bear the brunt.
DWS said that in an effort to curtail further distress in the affected areas such as Eastern Cape, Minister Lindiwe Sisulu of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has instructed Acting Director-General Mr Mbulelo Tshangana to source more funds to effectively deal with water challenges.

The provincial water storage in Gauteng is satisfactory at 99.2%. The Integrated Vaal River System with major dams such Vaal is at 62.4%. However, Vaal Dam is struggling to recover optimally as it sits at 50.6%, a sharp decline compared to 74.6% during the same period last year.
Water storages in other provinces are as follows:
•KwaZulu-Natal – 54.4%
•Limpopo – 57.2%
•Mpumalanga – 72.1%
•Northern Cape – 72.8%
•North West 64.8%
•Western Cape – 55.6%