South Africans urged to use water sparingly – this is the current state of the country’s reservoirs
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has called on South Africans to use water sparingly and to adhere to water restrictions in certain municipalities, despite the volume of water stored in the country’s reservoirs being at 94.2% – a 0.1% increase from the same period last year.
The DWS “calls on all water users to be circumspect in the way they consume water,” despite heavy rains and a stable outlook for national water storage.
The main area of concern for the DWS is the Eastern Cape, with parts of the province affected by ongoing drought conditions.
Although the Eastern Cape’s water storage was up to 77.3% this week compared to 76.3% last week, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s water supply is under immense strain, the department said.
The Algoa Water Supply System, which supplies the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) area via five dams, reported 15.1% water capacity – down 0.4% from the prior week.
Worryingly, the metro’s water supply system is 3.6% lower than it was at the same time the previous year.
The DWS says it is working with NMB officials to implement “various intervention projects in the area to ensure that the system does not fail.”
Other dams in the Eastern Cape are far healthier, with Amathole, Butterworth, and Klipplaat all reporting at over 100%.
The DWS says that dams in other provinces recorded the following levels:
- Gauteng dams are up from 101.2% last week to 101.8% this week
- In the Free State, dam levels slightly declined to 101.5% from 102.5%
- KwaZulu-Natal provincial water storage is at 87.6% this week from 87.1%
- Mpumalanga’s dam levels remains unchanged at 97%
- The Northern Cape’s dam levels reduced the most over the past week, plunging from 109.3% to some 98.6% this week
- In Limpopo, the Polokwane water supply system recorded an increase to 106.6% from 104%, while the Luvuvhu system slightly decreased to 100.6% this week from 100.7% last week.
- The North West province has seen a slight upshot from 83.5% last week to 84.8% this week.
- The Western Cape province recorded a decline to 60.9% this week from 62.3% last week. The Cape Town Water Supply System with dams supplying water to Cape Town also declined to 68.9% this week from 70.1%.
DWS spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said that the department would work with provinces to ensure that interventions to secure water supply are installed – specifically with operations and maintenance of water infrastructure.
Mavasa also said that the department is monitoring the use of grants intended to assist municipalities with water supply so that the money is used correctly.
Water shedding crisis in NMB
The water situation in NMB is dire.
Water-shedding measures were introduced to the municipality in June 2022. While drought conditions played a significant role in these measures being in place, it was not the only cause, as mismanagement, corruption, and political conflict also played a role.
For instance, construction contracts intended to maintain the integrated city’s water reticulation systems were delayed for many years.
Another significant issue is that the available water in the municipality is of poor quality. One child died from an e-coli infection last February after drinking contaminated water – the former NMB Mayor suggested adding bleach to make the water safe.
Former DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau told eNCA in July last year that drinking water levels remained below 3%, even when dam levels were above 17%.
Read: Does South Africa have a water crisis or simply a water problem?
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