THE Eastern Cape recently received some much-needed rainfall which brought some relief to many of the province’s dams, resulting in a slight increase from 64.9% to 70.4% measured last week.
This is according to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), which issued a statement on February 20 on the dam levels. The weekly report by DWS showed that the rain had made some difference in improving the situation, although the drought is not yet over.
As of February 20, the Kliplaat Water Supply System, with dams serving the Chris Hani District, had increased from 52.6% to 56.3%.
Waterdown Dam improved from 52.6% to 57.4%, an increase of 4.8%, while Ncora Dam is standing at 88.1% up from 80.9%, improved by 7.2%. Macubeni Dam also improved from 99.4% to 99.8%.
Although there is an improvement in other water supply systems, the Algoa System, with five dams serving Nelson Mandela Bay, is still struggling.
Kouga Dam has declined from 49.1% to 48.6%, Groendal Dam dropped from 58.1% to 57.3% and Impofu Dam also dropped from 30.9% to 30.4%. This is an indication that the drought is still stubborn in this area.
Dam levels have increased quite significantly in the Amathole Water Supply System, which has five dams serving Buffalo City Metro.
Laing Dam improved from 88.7% to 91.3% and Rooikrantz Dam also increased from 40.7% to 46.0%. Nahoon Dam slightly improved from 71.5% to 73.4% week. The only dam that showed signs of decrease is the Bridle Drift Dam standing at 42.9%, compared to 43.6% the previous week.
In the light of these mixed results, the DWS is appealing to all users to conserve water and report all leakages in their areas in order to save water for the future.
