Continuous rainfall welcomed, but things could be getting a little too wet

The fear of taps running dry is no longer a concern after the recent storms brought above-average rainfall in some areas, causing floods and filling up dams.

The South African Weather Service reported that Hartbeespoort recorded 43 millimetres of rainfall on Sunday followed by Thohoyandou which recorded 37 millimetres and Irene in Centurion recording 21 millimetres in 24 hours.

Affected provinces and dams

Department of water and sanitation spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the heavy downpours caused concern as inflows keep rising.

“The Integrated Vaal River System, the biggest system in the country, comprised of 14 dams with catchments in four provinces, namely Free State, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and North West, measured at 93,3% last week,” he said.

Over the weekend, the department found the Vaal Dam was 100.49% full and was rising rapidly, said Ratau.

“Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West is also experiencing high inflows, thus the rise in its levels,” he said.

Gariep Dam, which is South Africa’s largest dam, was at 102.6% of capacity. Agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo said there were convincing signs pointing to another favourable agricultural season for South Africa in 2022/23 in terms of rainfall.

“In their Seasonal Climate Watch report last week, the SA Weather Service highlighted that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation is in a La Niña state, and forecasts indicate that it will likely remain in this state during the remainder of 2022 and early 2023,” he said.

Sihlobo said there was a high chance for above-normal rainfall and below-normal temperatures over the summer rainfall areas with the continued strengthening of the La Niña event.

Soil moisture until February 2023

“The likely improvement in soil moisture from now until February 2023 is a welcome development as this period covers the cultivation to the pollination stages of the crop,” he said.

“The 2021/22 summer season showed us that the environment has changed, and the La Niña rains could be more intense at times, negatively affecting agricultural activity.

“Over the past few weeks, we have already seen encouraging momentum in planting activity in the eastern regions of SA, mainly in the yellow maize and soybean growing regions.

“From mid-November, we could see the planting activity increasing in central and western regions of SA, which predominantly plants white maize and sunflower seed,” he said.

Free State Agriculture Rural Safety chair Jakkals le Roux said rain caused chaos in Bothaville after 50 millimetres of rainfall was recorded last week. “It’s a problem because we have an under-average harvest four years in a row. We won’t be able to handle another under-average harvest, it had a huge financial impact on the farming community,” he said.

He said the biggest concern was plants drowning in the excess water. “There is concern over the areas that are too wet right now,” he said.

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