Vaal Dam drops below 50% for first time in 12 months

The department of water and sanitation said the Vaal Dam has dipped below the neutral 50% mark, as the decline week-on-week continues, signalling a need for water users to limit water use.

In a statement on Thursday, the department said the dam was hovering at 49.8% and was significantly lower compared with the level of 71.5% it recorded at the same week last year. Last week the dam was sitting at 50.6%.

“Other dams that form part of the integrated Vaal River system with the Vaal Dam have also taken a knock this week.

“One such dam is the Grootdraai, which fell from 89% last week to 87.8% this week. The present levels of the dam are reduced compared with 75.5% it was last year at the same time.

“Other dams that have seen a decrease are the Katse and Mohale dams. These two dams have raised alarm as they continue to drop weekly,” the statement read.

The department said the integrated Vaal River system has slightly declined this week, moving from 67.6% last week to this week’s 67.3%.

“The system, which remains resilient until now, was floating at 74.1% in the same week last year.”

The Mohale dam levels still remain severely low, moving from last week’s 14.4% to 13.6% this week. This time last year the dam was at 33.3%.

Closely behind the Mohale Dam is the Katse Dam. The levels fell from 37.6% last week to 37.2% this week, showing no improvement in levels for months, said the department.

By contrast, the Sterkfontein Dam located in the Free State is on an upward trajectory this week at 93.6%, compared to last week 93.4%.

The department has urged water users to reduce their consumption and use water wisely due to the weekly drops in the Vaal Dam and other dams in the system.

(Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.