Heavy rainfall adds just 2% to Midmar

THE rain and floods in KwaZulu-Natal this week raised Midmar Dam by only 2%, according to Umgeni Water.

Spokesperson Shami Harichunder said yesterday that the reservoir was at 67%, but cautioned that its volume had been beefed up by an aquatic injection from Spring Grove Dam.

He said that while 420mm fell in the catchment areas of the Mgeni System’s six dams, it was still below the 10-year average for September until now.

“The trend of below-average rainfall began three years ago,” said Harichunder. “This has resulted in rainfall deficit and consequently inadequate water resources in the Mgeni system, causing Midmar and Albert Falls dams to remain consistently at low levels.”

He said Albert Falls Dam stood at 29%. “The level has remained the same over the past five days. This means that, at this stage, the rainfall has had no impact,” Harichunder said.

“However, the possibility of run-off water making its way into the dam exists.”

Midmar is 21% higher than it was a year ago, while Albert Falls is 8% lower.

The eThekwini Municipality says only 59.3% of the water that is distributed is accounted for. Payment for the remaining 40.7% does not reflect on any accounts because it was lost to leaks or illegal connections.

Countrywide, leaks cost South Africa R7.2 billion.

To deal with this problem, more than 1 000 KwaZulu-Natal youths are among those being trained as “warriors in the war” against leaks, the municipality says.

The project involves enabling young unemployed people with water-related skills, including plumbing. Their training started last year.