Currently, 13 of South Africa’s dams are below 10% full, 58 dams are below 40% and 29 dams are above 100%. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) continues to monitor 211 dams on a weekly basis.

“Our national storage situation is still remains a great cause for concern. Generally we need to continue to intensify the enforcement of restrictions during winter to prevent a spike in usage during early spring,” the department said in a statement.

Dams such as Ngotwane, Lindleyspoort and Swartruggens continue to decrease and are now less than 10%. This is of great concern in the North West Province, particularly since these dams are in arid areas.

The seasonal outlook for the period August to October in this summer rainfall region is expected to be below normal. However in the lead up to Christmas large parts of the country may experience significantly higher than normal rainfall.

While current observations indicate a neutral ENSO most climate prediction models indicate a tendency towards a moderate (weak) La Niña development through the spring to summer, with the possibility of neutral conditions still likely.

There is still uncertainty with regard to the outlook for the rest of South Africa.

 

The numbers

The Crocodile West System with 6 dams, serving mainly Tshwane, Madibeng and Rustenburg, showed a slight decrease of 0.4% to 95.3%

The DWS has encouraged industries to implement water saving measures and the water usage has thus significantly improved.

The Vaal River System has 14 dams serving mainly Gauteng, Sasol and Eskom. It has decreased by 0.2% to 54.6%. The system was at 76.2% last year. Katse Dam now stands at 48.7%, a decrease of 1.1% from the previous week.

The Vaal Dam decreased to 35.2%, a decrease of 0.4% week on week. The Sterkfontein Dam remains steady at 89.5% and the Grootdraai Dam decreased by 0.3% and is now at 79.3%.

On the Orange River, the Gariep Dam is at 53.1%, an increase of 3.6% and Van Der Kloof Dam at 67.6% showed a decrease of 0.1%. There is still a slight upward trend as a result of the recent rains and snowfalls in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.

The DWS has expressed the need for an increased level of communication in Gauteng given the late publication of the notice of restrictions on the Vaal System. Restrictions should have been implemented when the Vaal system reached 60%. It is now at 54.6%.