South Africa’s dam levels continue to decrease, with data released by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), on Wednesday, showing that average dam levels had dropped from 60.2% last week to 58% this week.
In the Western Cape, dams have reached critically low levels, with the average dam level at 26.6% this week.
The Theewaterskloof dam is at 15.7%, compared with 36.7% at the same time last year, while the Voëlsvlei dam is at 19.5%, compared with 47.7% last year and the Clanwilliam dam at 19.9%, compared with last year’s 57.8%.
In Gauteng, the Vaal dam is at 80.3% compared with last week when it was at 81.2%
The Integrated Vaal River System, which comprises 14 dams serving mainly Gauteng, Sasol and Eskom, has decreased from 72.9% last week to 72.2% this week.
In the Eastern Cape, the Algoa System, comprising five dams serving Nelson Mandela Bay decreased to 25.6% this week from 26.3% last week.
The Amathole System, comprising six dams serving Buffalo City decreased from 79.4% last week to 79.2% this week.
In the Free State, the Bloemfontein System, comprising four dams serving mainly Mangaung, decreased from 33.4% last week to 31.8% this week.
The Gariep dam is down from 56.7% to 55.1%.
North West dam levels decreased from 70.5% last week to 68.7% this week. The Crocodile West system, which has six dams serving mainly Tshwane, Madibeng and Rustenburg, decreased slightly from 84.9% to 82.8% this week.
The Umgeni dam system, in KwaZulu-Natal, with five dams serving eThekwini and Msunduzi in Pietermaritzburg, decreased from 57.3% to 57.2%.
The Northern Cape province’s water levels are at 76.6%, on average, this week, an increase from 75.3% last week; however, the Spitskop dam is at 53.4% down from 56% last week.
In the Limpopo, the Mokolo dam is at 80.4% down from 81% last week, while the Nandoni dam is at 96% and De Hoop at 100.1%.
In Mpumalanga, dam levels are at 77.2%, a decrease from 77.5% last week.
Meanwhile, in Mpumalanga, the Blyderivierpoort is at 65.7%, Loskop at 100.3% and Ohrigstad at 48.4%.