Following the recent rains that fell on some parts of the province, most dams in the eastern part of the Eastern Cape show a significant improvement in water levels as per the report that was released by the Department of Water and Sanitation this week.
The dam levels in the western part of the province remain stable while some show a slight drop.
Overall, Eastern Cape dams show an increase of 3% from 58.5% last week to 61.5% this week. Sandile Dam in Keiskammahoek increased to 74.6% from 64.8% last week. Elandsdrift Dam near Cradock increased to 78.1% from 54.4% last week an improvement of 23.7%. Bridledrift Dam next to East London improved from 53.8% last week to 75.6%.
The Algoa Water Supply System which includes Kouga Dam, Loerie Dam, Groendal Dam, Impofu Dam.has increased by 1% from 28.6% last week to 29.6% this week. The Klipplaat Water Supply System which comprise of Boesmanskrantz Dam and Oxkraal Dam has also improved to 63.4% from 55.4%.
The Amathole Water Supply System comprising of Laing Dam, Nahoon Dam, Bridle Drift Dam, Wriggleswade Dam, Rooikrantz Dam and Gubu Dam is at 79.4% compared to 67.5% last week.
The Department of Water and Sanitation would like to warn residents that the increase in dam levels does not mean that people should now use water in a reckless manner. In spite of this improvement, the dam levels remain a concern to the department especially now that we are in the summer season. We urge everyone to continue saving water because the drought is not yet over.