KOUGA – The Kouga Dam’s water levels have declined significantly to 48.02%, down from 59.67% recorded in November last year, as the region continues to experience severe drought conditions with no meaningful rainfall in the catchment area.
Rienette Colesky, CEO of the Gamtoos Water Users’ Association, confirmed that the declining Kouga Dam levels are purely due to a lack of rain in the catchment and not due to increased water demand or seasonal tourist influx to the Kouga region.
“The current level of the dam is purely due to a lack of rain in the catchment and surrounding areas,” said Colesky.
She said that usually when the northern parts of the country receive extensive amounts of rain, the Eastern Cape receives less rain, which is currently the case.
The severity of the drought conditions has become evident across the region, with river systems showing alarming signs of distress.
Colesky said that a Gamtoos Water Users’ Association employee who regularly monitors the catchment areas has confirmed that the river systems are currently very dry.
She further said that the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro has been abstracting more water than the average from Loerie Dam, but it’s still within the allocated restricted volume that was determined based on different water sources.
The current situation represents a significant setback for the region, which celebrated a major milestone when the Kouga Dam overflowed in September 2023 for the first time since 2015.
A major drop in rainfall between 2024 and 2025 can be seen below:
Langkloof resident Riaan Strydom’s report
• Krakeel – 500mm (2024) and 312mm (2025)
• Tamie – 400mm (2024) and 298mm (2025)
• Hoek – 1,000mm (2024) and 813mm (2025).
Gamtoos Water’s report
• Kouga Dam – 281.4mm (2024) and 426.2mm (2025)
• Stuurmanskraal, a measuring weir in the Kouga region – 377.4mm (2024) and 224.1mm (2025)
According to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, the dam levels as of 14 January are as follows: Churchill: 51.69 %, Impofu: 42.98 %, Loerie: 59.32 %, Kouga: 48.02 %, Groendal: 89.24 %. The total combined level is 48.41 %.
