Photo for illustration. The Vaal Dam wall after a period of heavy rainfall, 3 January 2021. Photo: The Citizen/Michel Bega
There was a silver lining to the current thunderstorms and heavy rainfall across the interior of the country as water levels rose.
It brought some relief following the extreme heat and load shedding that had taps running dry in places.
Department of water and sanitation spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said the intermittent rainfall experienced in various parts of the country have contributed to the rise in water levels in reservoirs.
“A weekly report issued by the department indicates that the water levels have increased to 93.7% this week compared to last week’s 92.9%,” said Mavasa.
She said North West water levels significantly improved from 82.1% to 84.1% while water levels in Mpumalanga improved from 96.7% to 98.0%.
Limpopo increased to 87.1% this week, compared to last week’s 85.3% while KwaZulu-Natal increased to 91.8%.
The Free State water level was recorded at 100.3%, compared to last week’s 99.3%.
“Most of the water supply systems that supply potable water to different areas at various provinces have also seen a rise in their levels,” she said.
Mavasa said Gauteng’s Vaal Integrated Vaal River System rose to 100.7% this week, compared to last week’s 99.9%.
“Our reservoirs are sitting at comfortable levels now, but we still appeal to our communities to be prudent when they use water.
“Despite our dams being at satisfactory levels, most areas are still experiencing water supply challenges which are aggravated by load shedding.
“Therefore, extreme caution by water users is still critical to ensure sustainable water supply in the country,” he said.
The Western Cape saw a decline week-on-week, with their reservoirs dropping from last week’s 54.6% to 52.7%.
The Cape Town Water Supply System dropped from 62.0% to 59.8%.
“Gauteng and Eastern Cape also experienced a slight decline in their water levels this week. Gauteng has dropped from 100.4% to 99.8% while Eastern Cape moved from 76.9% to 76.6%.”
Mavasa said the Algoa Water Supply System that supplied the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan was still at a low level of 13.1% this week.
“There are persistent water supply challenges in Nelson Mandela Bay metro due to a critically low level of the Algoa Water Supply System.
“Some Eastern Cape dam levels are also on a continuous decline due to a scarcity of rainfall in the province.
“We continue to appeal to residents of the Eastern Cape and to the community of Nelson Mandela Bay and the surrounding areas to use water sparingly,” Mavasa said.
“While the department and the municipality are working tirelessly to augment water supply in the area, we urge the residents to reduce their water usage.”
Vox Weather forecaster Annette Botha said severe weather will start to clear by Sunday, with only isolated storms left and becoming mainly dry over the interior by next week.
She said the rain will continue to fall in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Lowveld.
“We are expecting more heavy downpours in those areas with some areas recording over 200mm of rainfall.”
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