Residents across multiple provinces have again been urged to conserve water as dam levels across the country drop.

South African dam levels have dropped slightly from 69.1% to 68.6% this week, according to the latest weekly report published by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).

Western Cape

Mid-August brings with it heavy rains in the Cape Town area, while the characteristically low winter rainfalls remain the norm for most of the country .The Western Cape is currently experiencing much-needed rain but residents have been warned to continue to use water sparingly .

The Theewaterskloof Dam has seen an increase to 23.9% from 22.4%.Leeugamka is at 15.2% down from 15.4% but still up from last year’s 14.5%. Voelvlei has increased slightly to 22.9% from 22.4%.

Despite the positive increase in dam levels, the DWS has warned that the region is not yet out of the woods.

Eastern Cape

Meanwhile recent rain in the Eastern Cape has not had a significant influence on dam levels and the DWS is still encouraging residents to adhere to the water restrictions implemented by municipalities to avoid running out of water in the province. Dam levels have dropped to 56.1%.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro has introduced stringent water restrictions to reduce water usage. Kouga is at 15.8%, a slight increase from 14.8 last week, but dams that supply Butterworth are critically low.

Gcuwa is at 26.6%, a decrease of 9.1% from 35.7 last week .Xilinxa is at 0.2% from 0.3% last week. Toleni is at 13.9% from 19.7% last week .The

Amathole District Municipality has implemented various alternative measures to alleviate water shortages since Butterworth was declared a disaster area in January this year. However, rains and even snow has been predicted for this week and it is hoped that it will deliver the much needed relief.

Gauteng

Gauteng dam levels continued their decline this week, reaching levels that show a decrease on the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) to 79.3% from 79.7% last week.

The Vaal Dam is at 91.5%, a slight decrease from 92.4 the week before, stabilised by water flowing from Katse and Polihali dams in Lesotho.

Mpumalanga

Dam levels in the continue on a downward trend showing a steady decline in the volume of available water in the province. According to the DWS, the average level of storage of dams in the province decreased from last week’s 76.8% to 75.8% this week.

The DWS warned that even though the situation looks better than last year when dam levels was at 56.1%, it is still crucial to continue using water in a sparing and efficient manner.

KwaZulu-Natal

The entire Kwazulu-Natal province is at 53.1% ,a decrease from 53.6% last week. This time last year the province was at 44. 5%.

The Inanda Dam in KwaZulu-Natal is at 62.3% from 63.1% last week, compared to 66% last year. Midmar is at 72% from 73% last week. Hazelmere has decreased to 107.9% from 109.6%.

Free State

Dam levels in the Free State province decreased slightly from 80.6% to 80.1%.The same time last year it was at 55%.

North West

The North West was at 85.9% last week and is now down to 85.2%, compared to 65% this time last year. The North West boasts dams such as Elandskuil, Klipdrift and Potchefstroom which are all above 100%.

Northern Cape

In the Northern Cape dam levels are at 89.5%, a decrease of 0.6% from 90.1%. Spitskop in the Northern Cape is at 91.6% down by 1.3%.

Limpopo

The Limpopo province is at 75.5% from 76.2% last week. Limpopo’s dams including Magoebaskloof, Hans Merensky, Vergelegen and Ebenezer are all above 100% full.

National picture

The current national overall dam levels are higher than the same time last year when they were at 53.2% at the height of the El Nino driven drought.

As the country approaches the rainy season the DWS urges the public to save water due to uncertainty about rainfall patterns.