Torrential rainfall increases dam levels

The Department of Water and Sanitation released its weekly figures regarding the status of reservoirs amid severe rainfall in some parts of the country.

In a statement, the department said the recent quantity of water demonstrates that the country’s dam levels have gradually improved.

This week, said the department, the overall storage capacity of the country’s water level sits at 91.0%, a slight increase from last week’s 89.9%, this is below the 94.7% witnessed in the same period last year.
Surprisingly, added the department, most of the country’s water supply systems have recorded downward movements in water levels despite the ongoing rainfall.

In a statement, the department said: “A total of eight out of 14 water supply systems have declined in water levels namely; Amathole diminished from 100.9% to 100.5%, Bloemfontein contracted from 100.5% to 99.5%, Butterworth declined marginally from 100.2% to 100.0%, Cape Town dropped from 89.2% to 86.3%, Crocodile West decreased from 94.8% to 93.6%, Klipplaatlessened slightly from 99.4% to 99.3%, Luvuvhu also experienced a downturn from 100.4% to 99.9%, Umhlathuze also dropped from 100.9% to 100.3%.”

However, Umgeni in KwaZulu-Natal elevated from 94.6% to 102.8%, Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) has surged from 87.7% to 88.1%, Algoa Water Supply has moderately expanded from 77.3% to 77.8%, Crocodile East slightly increased from 99.9% to 100.9%, , Polokwane from 98.3% to 99.8%, 98.6% to 98.2%, and Orange soared from 98.7% to 93.4%.

The department said the overall provincial water storage displays the following; Gauteng moved up from 85.9% to 87.8%, Free State 92.1% to 94.5%, Limpopo from 82.5% to 83.6%, Mpumalanga somewhat risen from 95.4% to 95.7% and North West is slightly down from 80.1% to 79.3%.

“The coastal provinces are on the declining segment except KwaZulu-Natal increasing from 84.2% to 84.8%, this can be attributed to recent torrential rainfall that has resulted in localised flooding in areas such as Ladysmith and others. Eastern Cape decreased from 84.8% to 84.5%, Western Cape dropped from 82.3% to 80.0% and Northern Cape declined from 81.5% to 78.5%. Most of the country’s major dams which are the biggest suppliers of water have increased in water levels namely; Vaal Dam which is part of the IVRS has recorded an upward movement from 66.9% to 67.6%, Bloemhof which also part of IVRS has increased from 82.2% to 85.2%, Gariep Dam which is part of Orange River Water Supply System this week recorded a rise from 105.2% to 105.6%, Vanderkloof Dam soared from 88.5% to 98.5%. The Department of Water and Sanitation is emphasising that South Africa is a water-scarce country; therefore, consumer behaviour is important in ensuring sustainable and equitable water supply,” read the statement.

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