Water and Sanitation impressed by dam levels improvement

The Water and Sanitation Department says it’s impressed by the improvement of dam levels across the country. This after Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu Natal received large amounts of rain during the past week. Some roads and infrastructure have been severely damaged in the Limpopo and Gauteng provinces. The department says some dams are beyond capacity.

Several parts of the country have received higher than their normal annual percentage of rainfall. This has resulted in some positive outcomes for the country’s dam levels.

Water and Sanitation Spokesperson, Wisani Mabasa says there’s some major improvements.

“The dam levels and water supply systems have increased extensively. In Limpopo, our average dam levels have improved from last year’s 81.1% to 86.8%. That is a 5% increase. It shows that our dam levels on average countrywide have improved. Also, that we have been experiencing quite a dry spell late last year,” says Mabasa.

Since late last year, South Africa has experienced a very dry summer, which affected the Vaal River system, which provide Gauteng and surrounding provinces with water. This even led to the Department of Water and Sanitation releasing water reserves from the Sterkfontein dam.

Mabasa says the Vaal Dam’s water level has also improved.

“By yesterday, it was sitting at 71% and we are monitoring this dam on a regular basis, because of what we experienced last year, because of late rainfall, which led to the dam levels declining because the dam is quite wide. So, it had declined up to between 22% and 24%,” says Mabasa.

Meanwhile, the South African Weather Service says the system that caused heavy rain over large parts of the country, is starting to clear.

The Weather Service’s Rudzani Malala says the Level 5 warning remains in place as another system is approaching parts of the North West and the Northern Cape.

“The first system that had caused this rainfall and the floods has weakened and it’s moving out. And there’s another development on the western side that is causing a lot of more rain. That’s why we kept the warning on the North West, the Free State and also the Karoo region. Though it doesn’t have the strength as much as the one that has already caused the rainfall,” says Malala.

Despite the Vaal Dam water level having improved, water restrictions in the Johannesburg Metro and the City of Tshwane remains in place.