The department of Water and Sanitation said this in a press release on January 17.
” The province’s average dam levels are at 65,7% this week, which shows a slight decline compared to last week when reading recorded 65,8%. But there is a considerable improvement compared to 58,8% last year, however it is not satisfying enough hence people must at all-time conserve water,” the report further read.
Looking at the summary of Water Management Area (WMA) for Limpopo, last year this time the water levels were at 64,6% whereas now we are at 71,0%, and in the Olifants, it is now at 67.0%, an improvement compared to last year’s 56,5%.
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The Polokwane Water Supply Systems is at 48,5% showing no movement when compared to 48,5% last week. The Luvuvhu Water Supply Systems also has no movement, sitting at 93.0% like last week. Nandoni Dam currently stands at 95, 89% this week which brings relief to communities.
Ebenezer Dam is at 87,77% this week, whilst Tzaneen Dam has declined to 40, 37% from last week’s 40, 54%.
Mokolo Dam slightly decreased by 0.55% from 80.78% last week to 80, 23% this week and De Hoop Dam slightly went down from 100.05% last week to 98.22% this week with a decrease of 1.83%.
In relation to the provincial storage, even though the water levels are still in a satisfying percentage, the province still needs to continue to implement water restrictions so that reliable water provision is sustained until the rain comes. Water is a scarce resource and catalytic towards economic development and it must therefore be conserved at all times.
The Department of Water and Sanitation’s Limpopo Regional Head, Lesiba Tloubatla call on the people of the province and those who are visiting our shores to always be careful whenever visiting our dams or our rivers for recreational purposes. “People should not enter into the water if they are unable to swim and parents should not leave their children playing along the dams of river banks unattended. People should always be careful especially in places where it is indicated that fishing and swimming is not allowed. Let us all play our role in making sure that our children do not become part of the statistics and that we are safe at all times”, said Mr Tloubatla.