Despite KZN’s above-average dam levels going into the dry winter season, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) urges citizens to use water sparingly, and municipalities to attend to leaks and infrastructure refurbishment with urgency.
‘Municipalities must [pull] up their socks and attend to urgent water-related matters including leaks, infrastructure refurbishment, and water reticulation,’ said DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau.
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‘South Africa is a water scarce country and if we do not all do what we are meant to do, we will be in serious trouble in the future.’
This week’s dam level report shows a marginal increase across the province, from last week’s 89.3% to 89.6%.
In the Zululand region, Pongolapoort dam rose from 83.8% last week to 84.1% this week, Hluhluwe dropped slightly from 68.3% last week to 67.2%
this week, while Klipfontein remained unchanged at 101.3%.
Goedertrouw dam near eShowe dropped ever so slightly from 85.9% last week to 85.72% this week.
KZN’s main water supply system, Umgeni, is also above average at 101.5%, compared with last year’s levels of 84.9%.
‘Data received from hydrologists in the department shows us the effects of climate change have heightened the unpredictability of our weather patterns, especially rainfall,’ said Ratau.
‘In simple terms, dams can be full to capacity today, and almost empty in a few months. It is for this reason that we call on everyone to be prudent with water use in their homes.’
Ratau added that poor domestic water usage is a persistent challenge while also admitting that municipalities also have a critical role to play to ensure water leaks and malfunctioning infrastructure are attended to with the urgency required.
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