South Africa continues to experience decreasing dam levels and the drought-stricken Western Cape is critically low, a report released by the Department of Water and Sanitation stated this week.

Despite the recent rains in the province, the report paints a bleak picture of two dams, Gamka and Gamkapoort, which are virtually empty at 0,0%. They are followed by Floriskraal and Stompdrift whose levels are 4,1% and 4,7% respectively.

However, the picture is different in the Vaal Dam that supplies Gauteng and two other provinces and whose level stands at a reasonable 93,9% compared to miserable 36% at the height of the drought last year. Generally, dam levels are dropping at 1% week-on-week.

In Eastern Cape, the Algoa System which has five dams has decreased slightly from 33,3% to 32,7% compared to 72,2% last year. The system includes Nelson Mandela Bay which is currently experiencing serious water challenges that have forced the Metro to impose severe restrictions in and around Port Elizabeth. The Amathole System with 6 dams serving Buffalo City Metro (East London) decreased from 63,5% to 63,2%. Last year this time it was at 82,2%.

In the Free State, the Bloemfontein System with four dams serving mainly Mangaung, decreased by 1,2% to 45,0% from 46,2% compared to 31,3% during the same time last year. The Crocodile West system in North West that has six dams serving mainly Tshwane, Madibeng and Rustenburg, also experienced a slight decrease from 98,6% to 98,2%  The system was recorded at 95,2% last year.

The Umgeni Dam system with five dams serving mainly eThekwini and Msunduzi decreased to 60,3% from 61,0%. The system was at 47,9%  during the same time last year.

Despite some heavy rains in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the Umgeni system with five dams that are serving mainly eThekwini and Msunduzi, decreased from 61% to 60,3% this week. The system was at 47,9%  during the same time last year.

The latest dam level recordings reflect a slight decrease week-on-week which shows a drop from 70,4% last week to 69,9% this week.

The report coincides with the Clear Rivers Campaign which is spearheaded by the Department of Water and Sanitation in honour of Nelson Mandela. The campaign is aimed at educating the public about the importance of keeping clean rivers and dams with the aim of accessing more water to various communities. Turning them into dump sites must stop. The pollution of rivers and dams has a negative impact on the quality of water.

This statement was issued by the Department of Water & Sanitation