South Africa’s national water storage levels have dropped to 59.2%, compared with 64.1% during the same period last year, as many regions across the country struggle to recover from the prolonged drought.

“South Africa’s full water capacity is about 32 012.2 cubic metres, and currently we are left with 18 950.7 cubic metres of water,” said Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu in a statement on Wednesday.

The drought-stricken Eastern Cape’s provincial water storage fell to a low of 45.5%, from 58.6% last year, as water supply systems, such as Algoa and Amathole, experienced a continued decline throughout the year, affecting water supply to the dams.

The Algoa water supply system, which supplies water to dams in Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounding areas, is at 30.6% compared with 51.2% during the same period last year.

The Amathole water supply system, with dams in the Buffalo City and surrounding areas, contracted from 68.5% last year to the current 42.3%.

“Some dams in areas such as Butterworth and Queenstown have run dry and ground water is being prioritised in those areas,” Sisulu noted.

In the Free State, the provincial water storage declined to 65.6%, from the 73.4% recorded last year, with the Bloemfontein water supply system at a low of 37.9%, a decline from 55.1% during the same period last year.

However, the provincial water storage in Gauteng reached satisfactory levels of 99.2%.

“The Integrated Vaal river system . . . is at 62.4%. However, the Vaal dam is struggling to recover optimally as it sits at 50.6%, a sharp decline compared to 74.6% during the same period last year,” she pointed out.

The water storage levels in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo stood at 54.4% and 57.2% respectively, while Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, the North West and the Western Cape registered levels of 72.1%, 72.8%, 64.8% and 55.6% respectively.