The Pixley Ka Seme and Namaqua District Municipalities were recently declared disaster areas due to the ongoing drought that has left large parts of the Northern Cape Province dry.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) weekly state of reservoirs report, water storage in the province is currently at 86% with the Orange River at 64.4% and the Vaal River at 85.4% having decreased from last week’s 86.1%.

The Spitskop Dam in the Harts River is at 83.3, Douglas storage weir 102.5% from 106.8% last week, Vaalharts 76.8%, Boegoeberg 106.9% and the Karee Dam continues to decline at 0.6%.

“The water situation is still a great cause for concern and communities, mining, agriculture and business sector are urged to intensify water conservation efforts,” the Department says.

The department adds that the above summaries are not representative of all dams in the Province or Water Management Areas. “The summaries only reflect the storage for those dams listed in the Weekly State of Reservoirs Report,” it concludes.