Rains bring scant relief to dry areas

THIS week’s rainfall throughout the Eastern Cape has had little impact on its dam levels.

“This is a clear sign that the province faces serious drought, and dam levels could drop even more due to the changing of seasons,” water and sanitation spokesman Sputnik Ratau warned.

“According to the water levels report published by the department this week, the Eastern Cape recorded a meager 0.1% increase, moving from 66.6% last week to 66.7% this week.”

The report showed that the Algoa water supply system, which serves the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, has continued to drop, falling this past week 0.4% from 25.1% to 24.7%.

Major dams in the system were also still “battling” Ratau said, with the Impofu dam sitting at 38.5% and the Kouga dam at 10.9%.

However, the Amathole water supply system, which serves Buffalo City Metro, was “showing some signs of recovery”, said Ratau, with its level rising from 88.9% to 90.4%.

The system has three dams – the Gubu Dam, Laing Dam and Rooikrantz Dam – sitting at above 100%.

Not all is well in the system, however, as the Xilinxa Dam, which serves Butterworth, was still as low as 25.5%, with residents being asked to “heed the calls of water conservation and take them seriously”.

“Water users are further reminded that the Eastern Cape has been declared a national disaster area due to acute water challenges, and reduction in water usage will play a huge role in ensuring that we avoid running out of water,” Ratau added.