Dams steady amid the heat

WATER levels in KwaZulu-Natal dams remained steady in the warm weather across the province over the past few weeks.

The average maximum temperature recorded in Durban last month was 29.4°C, with a mean of 78% humidity, according to South African Weather Service meteorologist, Stacy Colborne.

The meteorologist said that the highest temperature recorded in the city last month was 34.9°C, on January 5.

The latest hydrology report by the Department of Water and Sanitation said that the heat had not had an adverse effect on dam levels.

After this week’s rain, the overall storage capacity of KZN dams peaked at a rounded figure of 59%, higher than the capacity recorded last week and last year.

The Driel Barrage, Mearns and Wagendrift dams were all above 100% capacity this week, while the larger Albert Falls Dam, fed by the Umgeni River, was the lowest at 33.2%. Spring Grove Dam and Pongolapoort Dam – the province’s biggest – were the only other dams in the province that reached a storage capacity of less than 50%, with 44.6% and 43.8% respectively.

Dam levels are expected to remain stable this month, and the province should experience relatively cooler temperatures for the next couple of weeks, which will bring more rain, Colborne said.

“This is due to significant moisture being brought in by ridging of the surface high pressure system, which is situated south to south-east of the country, together with a surface trough that extends from Botswana and Namibia over the western part of South Africa. This will contribute to rainfall for KZN during this period,” said the meteorologist.

“It will, however, warm up again towards the end of February due to a surface high pressure system that will dominate over the eastern part of the country,” Colborne forecasts.