The national weekly status of dams report from the Department of Water and Sanitation, which was released earlier this week, shows a marginal improvement in water levels in various regions of the nation. The country’s overall water storage capacity is currently 93.4 percent, up slightly from last week’s 93.3 percent and significantly from the 85.2 percent of last year.
Algoa with dams in Nelson Mandela Bay increased from 13.4percent to 14.54%, Cape Town Water Supply System increased from 72.5 to 73.8 percent, Crocodile West marginally increased from 99.6 to 99.9 percent, Luvuvhu marginally increased from 101.1 to 101.2 percent, Orange marginally increased from 99.2 to 99.5 percent, and Polokwane increased from 101.7 to 102.0 percent.
The subsequent water supply systems have observed declines: Amathole’s percentage reduced from 76.3 to 76.1; Bloemfontein’s from 99.8 to 99.3; Butterworth’s from 100 to 99.8; Umgeni’s from 100 to 100; and the Integrated Vaal River System’s from 100.7 to 100.6.
Crocodile East and Umhlathuze are the two water supply systems that remain stable and unaffected week to week at 100.3 and 100.2 percent, respectively. Out of the nine provinces, three (03) have seen a decrease in water levels: KwaZulu Natal fell from 90.6 to 90.4 percent, the Eastern Cape decreased from 70.2 to 69.8 percent, and Gauteng slightly decreased from 100.8 to 100.5 percent.
Western Cape, Free State, Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and North West are all showing signs of improvement, rising from 59.1 percent to 60.7 percent, 58.8 percent to 108.8 percent, 108.8 percent, and 81.2 percent to 81.5 percent respectively. This improvement is likely due to the ongoing downpours that have been experienced in the province recently.
The lone province, Mpumalanga, is still operating at the same level as last week, at 95.3% of capacity. Nooitgedacht Dam, a component of the IVRS fed by the Komati River, has decreased from 100.9 percent to 100.4 percent, while Kwena Dam, a component of the Crocodile East Water Supply System, has remained stationary at 100.3 percent. Jericho Dam is currently at 100.2 percent.
Albert Falls Dam in KwaZulu Natal, which is a part of the Umgeni Water Supply System, dropped from 99.5 to 98.9 percent; Midmar Dam, which is also a part of Umgeni, also decreased somewhat from 99.6 to 99.0 percent this week; and Woodstock, which is supplied by the Tugela River and is under the jurisdiction of IVRS, remained at 101.1 percent.
Kouga Dam, located in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan, currently experiencing water supply challenges, sits at a critically low 16.0 percent, and Nahoom Dam, which forms part of Amathole Water Supply System, has decreased from 96.2 percent to 94.7 percent this week. Groendal Dam, which is part of Algoa Water Supply System in the Eastern Cape, is critically low at 21.3 percent, moving further low from last week’s 21.5 percent.
Thee Waterskloof increased from 73.9 percent last week to 75.2 percent, Berg River from 82.2 percent to 84.1 percent, Kammanassie, which is alarmingly low at 5.8 percent, and Northern Cape’s Karee Dam, which is at 27.9 percent, are on the decline in the Western Cape.
The IVRS’s Vaal Dam has dropped from 105.1 to 104.8 percent, the Orange River Water Supply System’s Gariep Dam has improved slightly from 99.4 to 99.5 percent, Vanderkloof Dam has also increased from 98.8 to 99.6 percent, and the Northern Cape’s Karee Dam, which was critically low at 9.3 percent, has increased to 17.9 percent.
Crocodile West Water Supply System in the North West’s Hartbeespoort Dam declined from 99.4 to 99.2 percent, while Roodekopjes climbed from 103.1 to 104.2 percent. Vaalkop Dam is at 91.9 percent capacity, and Roodeplat Dam, a part of Crocodile West that receives water from the Pienaars River, has increased from 100.5 percent to 100.6 percent.
De Hoop Dam, the largest dam in Limpopo, has remained constant at 100.3% of capacity, Flag Boshielo Dam, a component of the Polokwane Water Supply System, has increased slightly from 102.2 to 102.6 percent, Nandoni Dam, located in the far north of Limpopo, recorded a minor increase from 101.4 to 101.5 percent, and Middel-Letaba is nearly empty at 4.1 percent capacity.
The Department of Water and Sanitation continues to urge water users to use the available water responsibly.