Rains bring little relief to drought
With summer rains expected to end in the second week of April, the City has once again urged the public to use water sparingly.
THE recent rainfalls have done little to stifle the current drought gripping the country, said the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in a statement this morning. Officials have now raised concerns over ‘water challenges’ that could be exacerbated by the dry winter season.
According to the statement released by the department, the rains have only filled the country’s dams by four per cent – to an average of 57 per cent. This despite some flooding in certain areas around the country, including Durban.
“Under normal circumstances dams by are usually at 100 per cent this time of the year after heavy summer downpours. DWS is calling on South Africans to intensify their water conservation efforts in preparation for the dry winter season,” the statement read.
Departmental hydrologists said the summer rains were expected to end in the second week of April.
The current drought, which started in KwaZulu-Natal as a result of the El Nino phenomenon, is expected to end only at the end of the year, after which it will be followed by the La Nina phenomenon. The latter is usually associated with heavy rains and flash floods.
