For the first in eight
\nyears, the Kouga Dam is expected to overflow by tomorrow, September 29, after
\nthe dam levels increased rapidly from 62 percent on September 26 to 92.19 percent
\non September 28.<\/p>\n
Rienette Colesky, CEO of Gamtoos
\nIrrigation Board, said that the Kouga Dam has only spilled over 33 times
\nsince 1971 with the dam last reaching 100 percent in 2015.<\/p>\n
Since then, the Kouga Dam levels
\nhave never reached full capacity.<\/p>\n
Colesky said that they were aware of
\nthe warnings of severe rain as predicted on September 22, by the South African
\nWeather Services (SAWS) and were fortunate to have heavy rain from September 23
\nto 25 with Krakeel Hoek receiving 333mm, Tamie 185mm, Krakeel 206mm, and Joubertina
\n125mm.<\/p>\n
In an interesting turn of events, on September 25, the SAWS upgraded their weather warning to Orange level 9 for
\ndisruptive rain in Kou-Kamma and Baviaans in the Dr Beyers Naude which was
\nexpected to continue until September 25 at 22:00.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As part of the severe rain, Colesky
\nsaid that a cutoff low moved
\nover the catchment area of the Kouga Dam which resulted in a large amount of
\nrain that ultimately flowed into the Kouga Dam.<\/p>\n
\u201cA cut-off low is the kind of rain that
\nfills up the Kouga Dam and causes the dam to spill over,\u201d said Colesky.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a cut-off low comes to the catchment
\narea, we know that there is a large possibility for the dam to fill up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colesky said that they were also expecting
\nheavy rain on September 25 and by 03:00 the following morning she said that she
\nreceived a notification of the amount of rain that had fallen over a certain
\npart of the catchment area.<\/p>\n
She said that there was a total of 200mm
\nmeasured across the catchment area with Krakeel Hoek receiving quite a bit of
\nrain.<\/p>\n
Colesky said that Stuurmanskraal, a
\nmeasuring weir in the Kouga region, peaked at 310\u00a0000 litres per second
\non September 26 and then began declining from the morning of September 27.<\/p>\n
She said that by the end of the day
\non September 27, Stuurmanskraal measured at 198\u00a0000 litres per second. <\/p>\n
\u201c198\u00a0000 litres per second traveling
\nto the Kouga Dam is an enormous amount of water,\u201d said Colesky.<\/p>\n
She further said that at one point during
\nthe heavy downpour over the last few days, for approximately five hours about 5
\nmillion cubic metres of water flowed into the Kouga Dam which equates to about
\ntwo Loerie Dams.<\/p>\n
Colesky said that the Kouga Dam level was at 62 percent on September 26
\nand because of the run-off from the catchment areas in the last 72 hours, they
\nexpect the dam to be overflowing soon with the current level as of September 28
\nat 92.19 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect the Kouga Dam to be
\noverflowing by September 29,\u201d said Colesky.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a real expectancy of the
\ndam overflowing at this time as it has been rising at an incredible level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colesky said that since the dam
\nlevels have risen to above 65 percent, they \u201cconsider the drought to be broken\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the dam level rises above 65
\npercent, in our book we consider the drought to be broken,\u201d said Colesky.<\/p>\n
She further said that at 65 percent
\nthe restrictions are usually lifted, and agriculture could receive the full water
\nquota.<\/p>\n
Colesky said that the farmers in
\nthe region are incredibly thankful and humbled by the recent increase in dam levels.<\/p>\n
She said that the water extraction
\nrestrictions placed on the dam influence farmers and people on a personal level.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one person who needs to
\nput food on the table and have employees depending on them, so a shortage of
\nwater is a very personal matter,\u201d said Colesky.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople feel blessed and relieved. We
\nknow that restrictions are a reality but for now, these farmers can farm again,
\nproduce, and offer employment. This is a good place to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also hope that we will not have
\na terrible drought like we have had over the last eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n
According
\nto the Department of Water and Sanitation, as of September 28, the dam levels
\nare as follows, Churchill \u2013 100 percent, Impofu \u2013 20.46 percent, Loerie \u2013 100 percent
\nand Groendal \u2013 100 percent.<\/p>\n