Ladysmith KZN – Weather prediction data provided to Umgeni Water suggests that above-average rainfall – or the La Nina effect – is expected in the East Coast region of KZN from the end of Spring and going into early 2021.
This comes as good news for the region as a whole, including Ladysmith, which experienced below-average rainfall from October 2019 to July 2020.
Information relating to projections of above-normal rainfall, from November 2020 to January 2021, was discussed at a risk analysis meeting conducted by Umgeni Water last month and has been factored into Umgeni Water’s planning of water resources for the vast service area in the East Coast and interior of KwaZulu-Natal.
Planning and management of water resources is contained in a quarterly report (May-August 2020), titled Status of Water Resources, that has been released by Umgeni Water to create awareness among municipalities and other stakeholders about the status of current and expected future water resources availability.
An analysis conducted by Umgeni Water and published in this report shows that despite the generally less-than-normal rainfall in the 10-month period of October 2019 to July 2020, the majority of dams in Umgeni Water’s operational area remained at acceptable levels.
At the onset of Spring, 16 of the 17 dams in Umgeni Water’s operational area continued to remain at acceptable levels, which means there is adequate water to meet the full demands of the seven municipal customers of Umgeni Water.
At the moment, water resource availability in Ladysmith is considered to be adequate.
