Dam levels on the rise

After the recent much needed rains with certain areas experiencing floods, the water levels of Brummer and Pet dams have increased.

According to the Msukaligwa Local Municipality, the levels of the two dams have increased by an average of 25 per cent.

In November last year, Douglas Dam was at 62 per cent and Brummer Dam was at 26 per cent. With the recent rainfall, Douglas Dam is currently estimated at 87 per cent and Brummer Dam at 60 per cent.

Responding to Highvelder enquiries, municipal spokesman Mr Mandla Zwane said the rain was a good thing for both the community and the municipality in terms of finance as well as resources.

However, he cautioned that the community and the municipality were not out of the woods yet in terms of drought, as Msukaligwa is one of the water scarce municipalities. He also requested communities to continue using water sparingly and said water restrictions were still applicable.

Mpumalanga Province was declared one of the drought disaster areas threatening food security in the country last year along with four other provinces, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Free State.

Farmers have lost revenue due to the drought and small scale farmers were affected the most.

Small scale farmers’ financer Mr Thembinkosi Khumalo said most farmers experienced a 25 per cent drop and about R600 million loss in revenue.

Water restrictions also worsened the situation, as farmers were allowed to irrigate for three hours, three times a week instead of 12 hours a day.

The Department of Water and Sanitation, Mpumalanga Provincial Office intervened to assist ailing municipalities by drilling, equipping and refurbishing boreholes as part of its interventions.

Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality was the major beneficiary with an allocated fund of R10 million through the Water Services Operating Subsidy. The department also assisted emerging farmers by installing rainwater harvesting tanks.