The Department of Water and Sanitation has urged South Africans to continue using water sparingly, although a recent weekly state of the reservoirs report showed that summer rains have had a good impact in some areas of the country.
A Department statement said that this week the report showed that water stored in the country’s reservoirs is standing at 88.7% this week, an uptick from 84.6% last week. “Whiled nationally the picture looks good, the department is aware of communities facing water shortages due to various challenges faced by water service authorities serving them,” the department said.
In Gauteng, the integrated Vaal River System with 14 dams has recorded a meaningful increase. It moved from 91% last week to 95.7% this week, with the boost coming from dams such as the Vaal Dam which is stable at 103.4% and the Sterkfontien Reserve Dam at 100.8%
On the other hand, a major system in the Eastern Cape, the Algoa Water Supply System, with five dams supplying water to Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounding areas, is still struggling to recover at 17.9%.
The department said the Kouga Dam recorded 15.6% this week, Groendal Dam is at 24.6% and Impofu at 15.7%.
“The Amathole Water Supply System with four dams supplying water to Buffalo City and Amathole District, is equally low at 29.8%. Meanwhile, in Free State, the Bloemfontein Water Supply System, with four dams supplying water to Mangaung, has received a massive boost, climbing from 44.8% last year to 95% this week. Rustfontein Dam is at 102.3% and Groothoek at 101.5%,” said the Department.
In Limpopo , the Polokwane Water Supply System with dams supplying water to Polokwane and surrounding areas, is at 90.8% this week.
The Flag Boshielo Dam in the province stands at 88.7% and the Ebenezer Dam is at 96.5% according to the department. In the same province, the Levuvhu Water Supply System, with dams supplying water to Thohoyandou and surrounding areas is stable at 99.9% this week
“Nandoni Dam is full at 101.6%, Albasini Dam at 98.5% and Vondo Dam 92.4%,” said the department.
While in the Western Cape, the winter rains experienced in the province saw the Cape Town Water Supply System stabilised at 96.4%. Dams in that system such as the Voëlvlei, Berg River and Theewaterskloof recorded 93.5%, 98.6% and 98.1% respectively.
“In KwaZulu- Natal, dams in Umgeni Water Supply System such as Spring Groove (78.5%), Inanda (83.6%), Midmar (88.3%) and Nagle (92.2%) are stable. As a result, the system is equally stable at 73.2%. In Mpumalanga, the provincial water storage is at 87.4%. Dams such as Witbank, Middelburg, Loskop are stable at 93.4%, 95.7% and 102% respectively,” added the department.
The Crocodile West Water Supply system in the North West, which supplies water to the province, is stable at 90.8%, the province's water storage is at 71%.