SA’s reservoirs record decrease in water levels despite heavy rains

The Department of Water and Sanitation says most of the country’s water supply systems have recorded a dip in water levels, despite the heavy rains across various regions.

On Wednesday, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued yellow level 2 and 4 warnings for severe thunderstorms, resulting in heavy rain in parts of the Free State, North West, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

ALSO READ: WATCH: KZN floods: Death toll rises as search and rescue operations continue

Heavy rain was also experienced in Gauteng.

In its weekly figures on the status of reservoirs amid the heavy rainfall, the department reported that while the country’s dam levels have gradually improved at 91%, a slight increase from last week’s 89.9%, they remain below the 94.7% observed during the same period last year.

Of the country’s 14 water supply systems, eight have declined in water levels.

These are:

• Amathole: 100.9% to 100.5%
• Bloemfontein: 100.5% to 99.5%
• Butterworth: 100.2% to 100.0%
• Cape Town: decreased from 89.2% to 86.3%
• Crocodile West: decreased from 94.8% to 93.6%
• Klipplaat: decreased from 99.4% to 99.3%
• Luvuvhu: 100.4% to 99.9%
• Umhlathuze: 100.9% to 100.3%

However, the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) saw an increase to 88.1% from 87.7%. The Algoa Water Supply expanded from 77.3% to 77.8%, Crocodile East from 99.9% to 100.9%, Umgeni in KwaZulu-Natal from 94.6% to 102.8%, and Polokwane from 98.3% to 99.8%.

ALSO READ: Watch out for flooding in KZN and Mpumalanga!

The Orange River decreased from 98.7% to 93.4%.

While inland provinces recorded increased overall water storage, coastal provinces experienced a decline, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal.

The province’s improvement from 84.2% to 84.8% has been attributed to the torrential rainfall that has resulted in flooding.

The rainfall has also unfortunately led to localised flooding in areas such as Ladysmith, resulting in the evacuation of about 70 people to an indoor sports center for safety.

READ MORE: 70 evacuated, roads closed as flooding continues in KZN

According to the department, most of the country’s major dams, which are the biggest suppliers of water, have also recorded an increase in water levels.

These include the Vaal Dam, Bloemhof, Gariep Dam and the Vanderkloof Dam.

Citizens are urged to use water sparingly in a water-scarce country.