Consumers urged to use water sparingly as dam levels decline

21 June 2017

The national dam levels continue to decline slightly as the winter season is in full swing. This is based on an assessment conducted on a weekly basis by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

According to the assessment conducted on Monday, 19 June 2017, the national water storage  reflected a 0.4 decrease on dam levels which are currently sitting on an average of 71.6% compared with 71.9% of the previous week. Last year at the same time, the national water storage was  at 53.8.2%.

There has been a falloff in average dam levels in all provinces. The Algoa system which consists of 5 dams serving Nelson Mandela Bay reported is at 35.7%  this week compared with 36.4% last week which is a decrease of 0.7%.

The Amathola system entailing 6 dams serving Buffalo City, saw a decrease of 0.9% in the previous week. It was reported at 67.9% last week and is currently sitting at 67.1% this week.

The Cape Town Dams system serving mainly the City of Cape Town is currently sitting at 22.7%. This is a slight increase from the previous week however the City is  still a long way off from breaking this ongoing drought. Voelvlei dam sitting at 18.2% an increase of 1% compared to the previous week and Theewaterskloof Dam swelled by a mere 2% and is currently sitting at 17.2%. Level 4 restrictions remain in place, and all consumers have been urged to use less than 100 litres per person per day in total.

Umgeni Dam system serving mainly eThekwini and Mzinduzi saw a decrease of 0.6% and is at 63.1%. Other KZN dams, which remain low, include Phongolo at 39.8% and Goedertrouw at 34.0% making a slight increase of 0.2% from last week.

The Vaal River system serving mainly Gauteng, Sasol and Eskom is at 83.3% compared with 83.5% last week. The Sterkfontein dam is steady at 90.7% and The Grootdraai dam has decreased by 1.4% and is now at 88.4%.

In the Orange River the Gariep dam is decreasing week on week and is currently at 83.5% a decrease of 1.3%.

Polokwane System has remained steady for the past two weeks and is currently sitting at 64.1%. 

The water restrictions will remain in all the other provinces with the exception of Gauteng. Residents are urged to continue using water sparingly.

Issued by Sputnik Ratau on behalf of the Department of Water & Sanitation, 21 June 2017