Summer rainfall brings relief to Vaal Dam
The Department of Water and Sanitation says that recent rainfall has helped the Vaal Dam’s water level rise from 26.5% to 31.5% over the past week.
It comes after the City of Johannesburg was forced to implement Level 2 water restrictions amid a prolonged period of drought.
The department said that water released from the Sterkfontein Dam recently has also ‘just about’ reached the Vaal Dam.
The Integrated Vaal System has improved and is above 50% again, the DWS said.
“In fact, all dams and systems benefitted from the good rains over the past week. The total volume of water in storage increased this week: 47.9% to 48.7%,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
It noted that a number of dams are above 100%. The Crocodile West system (Hartebeespoort and Roodeplaat Dams) benefited from Tshwane and Johannesburg runoff, and increased from 79.8% to 84.0%.
The Vaal System, with 14 dams serving Gauteng, Sasol and Eskom rose from 49% to 50.6%, although they are down from 66.3% during the same time last year.
The DWS said that the Katse Dam is at 39.1% from 37.9%, while Grootdraai rose sharply to 72.5% from 65.5%. Sterkfontein Dam declined slightly from 91.8% to 91.3%, and Bloemhof Dam is the same as last week at 11.4%.
The Orange River System declined slightly from 52.4% to 52.2%. This system stood at 68% this time last year, the department said. Polokwane System with two dams also dropped from 28.3% to 28.1%. The system was recorded at 64.1% last year, the DWS said.
The Crocodile West System with six dams serving Tshwane, Madibeng and Rustenburg was at 74.9% last year but has risen to 84% this week from 79.8%.
The Western Cape System with six dams serving the City of Cape Town was at 68.1% last year but is now at 57.8%.
The Western Cape was forced to implement Level 3 restrictions as of 1 November.
The DWS said that the Algoa System with five dams serving Nelson Mandela Bay dropped from 67.3% to 66.4%, having been at 100.2% in November 2015.
The Amatole System with six dams serving Buffalo City was at 99.2% last year and gained from 77.0% to 77.7% over the past week.
The Umgeni System, with five dam serving Ethekwini and Munduzi, rose from 44.3% to 46% but was at 63.2% last year. The Nagle River rose from 69.4% to 72.3%, while Midmar Dam water levels rose from 48.6% to 50.5%.
The Bloemfontein System with four dams serving Mangaung was 28.3% last year and is now steady, rising from 35.5% to 36.6% over the past week, the water department said.
“Even though there has been a slight increase in dam levels, the Department of Water and Sanitation wishes to advise community members and industries to adhere to water restriction imposed by their respective municipalities. It will take time for the dam levels to reach the normal levels,” it said.
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