Olifants catchment dams continue to drop but still above 80% in the Nkangala District
DWS also reminds the public that water conservation must always be the norm as South Africa is a dry and water scarce country.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) weekly state of reservoirs report of August 31 shows that water volumes in the listed dams in the Olifants catchment in the Nkangala District continue to drop but the positive thing is that they are still above 80%.
According to the report, the Witbank and Loskop dams are above 90% and the Middelburg Dam is above 80%, even though they recorded declines in water volumes. Witbank Dam dropped from 96.4% to 95.5%, Loskop Dam dropped from 99.1% to 98.5% and Middelburg Dam dropped from 88.7% to 88.0%.
Still in the Nkangala District, the critically low Rhenosterkop Dam in the Elands river system further dropped from the 1.6% recorded last week to 1.5%.
The continuous decline in the listed dams in the Nkangala District is in line with the situation in the Mpumalanga Province.
The report shows that water levels in the listed dams in the Mpumalanga Province dropped from last week’s 69.2% to 68.6% on average.
In terms of the water management areas (WMA), the Olifants WMA dropped from 64.3% to 63.8% and the Inkomati-Usuthu WMA dropped from 66.1% to 65.4%.
The Department of Water and Sanitation urges the public to continue using water wisely and to be even more conservative to ensure water supply security for all.
DWS also reminds the public that water conservation must always be the norm as South Africa is a dry and water scarce country.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is still with us therefore it is crucial that we all work together to make sure that every drop counts by using the available water sparingly and in a wise and conservative manner,” said Mr Themba Khoza from DWS.
