The Vaal Dam has this week progressed to even lower levels and it has become one of the fastest declining dams in the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), week-on-week.

For the past two consecutive weeks, the Vaal Dam remained at 41.6% but recorded a decline to 39.6% this week. This is a record low considering that the dam was at 62.3% during the same week last year.

Likewise, the Grootdraai Dam saw a decrease this week as it fell from 80.6% last week to 79.9% this week. Despite the drop, the dam is in a healthy position and much higher compared with the 64.0% it reached last year in the same week.

The Sterkfontein Dam in the Free State equally saw a drop in levels this week. It currently hovers at 93.5%, lesser compared to last week’s 94.0%. In a comparative period last year, the dam floated at 92.2%. While it remains in a strong position this week, the Bloemhof Dam dropped from 98.8% last week to 98.2% this week.

During the same week in the preceding year, the dam stood at 97.6%. On the verge of a calamity, the Mohale Dam in Lesotho is presently in a shrivelled position as it sits at 6.7%, which is down from an equally low levels of 7.5% last week. Floating under the neutral 50% mark at 33.2% during the same time last year, the dam remained unimproved for a number of months.

On its part, the Lesotho’s Katse Dam fell from 30.1% this week to the 28.7% presently while in the same week last year it was at 18.8%. As for the Integrated Vaal River System, its stability continues to hold firm although it also dropped slightly from last week.

Currently, the system is at 61.8% after a fall from 62.7% last week. However, these level are less when compared with the 67.5% it recorded at the same period last year.

As the dams in the IVRS drop in varying degrees, with the Vaal Dam being one of the worst affected, the Department of Water and Sanitation calls on water users to heighten efforts aimed at water conservation.

Particularly, the Department urges water consumers to be on the lookout for water losses through leakages and burst pipes.

Moreover, the Department emphasises that the curtailment on excessive use of water is important given that community members are heavily reliant on constant water supply to enable them to wash their hands in the face of the spreading coronavirus.