Water levels drop in reservoirs
The department of water and sanitation says most of the country’s water supply systems have recorded a dip in water levels despite heavy rain across various regions.
The South African Weather Service yesterday issued yellow level 2 and 4 warnings for severe thunderstorms, resulting in heavy rain in parts of the Free State, North West, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Heavy rain was also experienced in Gauteng.
In its weekly figures on the status of reservoirs amid the heavy rainfall, the department reported that while the country’s dam levels have gradually improved at 91%, a slight increase from last week’s 89.9%, they remain below the 94.7% in the same period last year.
Of the country’s 14 water supply systems, eight have declined in water levels.
They are:
Amathole: Dipped from 100.9% to 100.5%.
Bloemfontein: Dropped from 100.5% to 99.5%. Butterworth: 100.2% to 100.0%, Cape Town: Decreased from 89.2% to 86.3%.
Crocodile West: Dropped from 94.8% to 93.6%.
Klipplaat: Dipped from 99.4% to 99.3%.
Luvuvhu: 100.4% to 99.9%. Umhlathuze: 100.9% to 100.3%. However, the Integrated Vaal River System saw an increase to 88.1% from 87.7%. The Algoa Water Supply expanded from 77.3% to 77.8%, Crocodile East from 99.9% to 100.9%, uMngeni in KwaZulu-Natal
from 94.6% to 102.8% and Polokwane from 98.3% to 99.8%.
The Orange River decreased its level from 98.7% to 93.4%.
While inland provinces recorded increased overall water storage, coastal provinces experienced a decline, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal.
The province’s improvement from 84.2% to 84.8% has been attributed to the recent torrential rain that resulted in flooding.
The rain also unfortunately led to localised flooding in areas such as Ladysmith, resulting in deaths, injuries and the evacuation of about 70 people to an indoor sports centre for safety.
The department says most of the country’s major dams, which are the biggest suppliers of water, have also recorded an increase in water levels.