Pretoria – The Department of Water and Sanitation has warned that the lower-than-normal rainfall, caused by El Niño since last year, continues to impact negatively on dam levels across South Africa.
“According to the latest dam levels assessments of 18 April 2016, the combined average dam levels are at 54.8%. This is a sharp decrease as the dam levels were at 79.8% at the same time last year,” the department said.
An overview of dam levels of water systems at provinces shows that the water levels at the Voelvlei Dam in the Western Cape are at 19.0% compared with 19.4% last week, a decrease of 0.4%.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the Hazelmere Dam is steady at 42.7%, Nagel Dam 83.9% compared to 86.5% last week, a decrease of 2.4% week on week.
The department said there is no change on water restrictions at this stage.
“There is a slight but not significant improvement on the Orange River System as the Gariep Dam is at 55.3% an increase of 0.2%. The Van Der Kloof Dam is at 59.9% an increase of 1.2% week on week. A positive outcome is that Eskom have started generating power from the Gariep Dam again,” the department said.
In the Vaal River System, Katse Dam is currently at 65.2% a decrease of 0.3% from the previous week. Vaal Dam is at 45.0% a 0.8% decrease week on week.
The Sterkfontein Dam is stable at 88.5%, while the Grootdraai Dam is at 89.8%, an increase of 0.1%.
The department has also warned that the Vaal system has dropped to near 60% and this is close to the break point where restrictions may have to be considered.
It promised to continue to monitor dam levels and reassured all water users that it is working closely with provinces, municipalities and other specialists to ensure sustainable water security across the country.
The South African Weather Bureau has predicted that the situation is most likely to persist with little rain expected for the next seven days as the frontal systems will slip by the country.
Hack4Water showcase
Meanwhile, the department, in collaboration with Open Government Partnership South Africa, kicked off a two-day Hack4Water showcase event in the quest to derive innovations and ideas to assist with water and sanitation challenges.
The event, held at Sandton Convention Centre from 21- 22 April 2016, is attended by innovative researchers, entrepreneurs and business leaders, who will be holding workshops, while simultaneously exhibiting at the market place.
During the workshops, hackers and business leaders will share the presentations to tackle topics, including water connections, new technologies for water and sanitation, water scarcity solutions and water networking management systems. – SAnews.gov.za
