Department of Water and Sanitation reiterated its call to water users to exercise maximum caution when utilising water

Although the outlook for the nation’s water levels has generally improved week over week, the Department of Water and Sanitation has again urged water users to take the utmost caution.

The department ascribed this improvement to recent unseasonably wet weather in other regions of the country as well as areas of the Western Cape that receive wintertime precipitation.

According to the department’s weekly report on dam levels, the amount of water has increased slightly from 93.1 percent last week to 93.3 percent this week, which is a major improvement over the 83.3 percent of previous year.

The only water supply systems that have decreased are the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) and Umgeni, with the IVRS falling marginally from 101.0 percent to 100.7 percent and Umgeni from 100.5 percent to 100.3 percent.

Algoa Water Supply System, Amathole, and Bloemfontein are three water supply systems that have seen some improvement.

Algoa Water Supply System increased from 12.0 to 13.4 percent; Amathole increased from 75.2 to 76.3 percent; and Bloemfontein slightly improved from 99.6 to 99.8 percent.

Crocodile West climbed from 99.2 percent to 99.6 percent, Klipplaat improved from 100.2 percent to 100.3 percent, Luvuvhu went from 100.9 percent to 101.1 percent, and Orange increased from 98.8 percent to 99.2 percent.

Cape Town saw the largest improvement at 70.8 percent to 72.5 percent.

The water supply systems in Polokwane (101.7%), UMhlathuze (100.2%), Crocodile East (100.3%), and Butterworth (100.0%) do not alter week over week.

Six provinces have noted an increase in water levels, including Gauteng and the Free State, which went from 100.2 to 100.8 percent and 100.7 to 100.8 percent, respectively.

Limpopo increased, if only slightly, from 88.3 to 88.4 percent. Mpumalanga saw a negligible increase, going from 95.1% to 95.2%.

The Western Cape saw the largest gain, going from 56.8 percent to 59.1 percent, while North West saw a rise from 81.0 percent to 81.2 percent.

The Eastern Cape declined from 70.3 percent to 70.2 percent, KwaZulu-Natal decreased from 90.8 percent to 90.6 percent, and the Northern Cape decreased from 108.85 to 108.2 percent among the provinces that have seen declines in the most recent numbers.

Theewaterskloof Dam increased from 72.3 percent to 73.9 percent from last week.

Berg River saw an uptick, going from 81.5 to 82.2 percent. The disturbingly low Kammanassie rate has increased from 3.8 percent last week to 4.4 percent this week.

In Mpumalanga, the IVRS supplied by the Mpama and Komati Rivers, which includes the Jericho and Nooitgedacht Dams, has increased from 99.4 percent and 100.4 percent to 100.2 percent and 100.9 percent, respectively.

The Crocodile East Water Supply System’s Kwena Dam, which is immovable at 100.3%, is.

The Crocodile West Water Supply System’s Hartbeespoort Dam in North West saw an increase from 98.0 percent to 99.4 percent, and Bospoort had a marginal increase from 102.2 percent to 102.4 percent.

Vaalkop Dam decreased from 92.9 percent to 91.9 percent, while Roodeplaat Dam, which is a part of Crocodile West supplied by the Pienaars River, decreased from 101.0 percent to 100.5 percent.

The Vaal Dam, a component of the IVRS, has gone from 105.9 to 105.1 percent. The Orange River Water Supply System’s Gariep Dam has seen a slight uptick from 98.6 percent to 99.4 percent.

Vanderkloof Dam’s percentage dropped from 99.1 to 98.8 percent, and Karee Dam in the Northern Cape is now at 28.1%, up from 17.9% last week.

The Albert Falls Dam in KwaZulu-Natal, which is an essential component of the Umgeni Water Supply System that provides water to the eThekwini Metro and nearby areas, dropped from 99.8 to 99.5 percent.

Another component of Umgeni WSS is the Midmar Dam, which has moderately reduced from 100.0 percent last week to 99.6 percent this week.

Woodstock, which is a part of the IVRS and is located on the Tugela River, is holding stable at 101.2 percent.

Algoa Water Supply System’s Groendal Dam in the Eastern Cape is critically low at 21.5 percent, up marginally from 21.3 percent last week.

The Nahoon Dam, which is a part of the Amathole Water Supply System, has declined from 96.8 percent to 96.2 percent this week, while the Kouga Dam, which is fed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan, is currently having water supply issues at 14.1 percent.

The De Hoop Dam, the largest dam in Limpopo, is still at its previous level of 100.3 percent.

The Polokwane Water Supply System’s Flag Boshielo Dam is similarly immobile at 102.2 percent.

Middel-Letaba, in the far north of Limpopo, is nearly empty at 2.1 percent of capacity, and Nandoni Dam experienced a slight uptick from 101.2 percent to 101.4 percent.