South Africa’s water situation improves
The general state of South Africa’s dam levels and water storage has improved, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) said on Wednesday.
Should the levels of reservoir-stored water remain stable, South Africa could possibly have sufficient water not only to sustain it through the upcoming wet season, but also throughout the next year.
“It would appear that South Africa is headed for a bumper rainy season with enough water to see us through the year 2020,” the DWS said in a statement, attributing the improved position in part to the contribution made by water consumption behavioural changes.
“Already, the Western Cape – which had been plagued by the worst drought in a century – is drenched with water from heavy winter rains that have fallen in the province in the past three months,” it continued.
The average dam level in the province registered at 71.4% this week, an increase of 17% over the prior year.
The state of the dams in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, however, remains concerning as they have the lowest dam levels at 56.4% and 56.9% respectively.
The Northern Cape’s aggregate dam levels this week stood at 85%, with the Free State and the North West registering levels of 83.2% and 64.2% respectively.
Gauteng’s collective dam water levels were reported at 89.6% and KwaZulu-Natal at 60.1%.
Mpumalanga continued its week-on-week slide of dam levels to the current 67.6%, with the department renewing urgent calls for consumers in the province to intensify their water saving habits until the next summer rains.
The DWS said it has set aside millions of rands to mitigate water scarcity in regions that are experiencing dry conditions.
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