Most parts of the Eastern Cape are experiencing low dam levels as well as decreasing groundwater availability due to lack of rain. The average dam in the province is below 60% an indication that the drought has set in in earnest.
Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) spokesman Sputnik Ratua said in a statement earlier today that the department was encouraging communities to continue using water wisely and to adhere to water restrictions imposed by municipalities.
The Algoa and Amatola systems are struggling to increase their dam levels. Major dams in the Algoa Water Supply such as Kouga are sitting at 7.90%, while Churchill Dam is at 19.29%, and Impofu and Groendal are 44.12%, and respectively51.80% are losing volumes of water due to lack of rain. In this week report Algoa System is sitting at 25.6%, whereas last week it was sitting at 26.3% a drop by 0.7%. Amatola System with six dams serving the Buffalo City Metro is standing at 79.2% this week. Lack of rain is the main cause for the drought, which has led to low dam levels. Xilinxa Dam is declining daily because of too much heat and is sitting at 5.6% this week and Gcuwa dam at 35.4%. Mthatha Dam and Tsomo dam in the Chris Hani District area are remain stable at 100%.
The Department is calling on all water users to be aware of the water shortage and to practice water saving measures to reduce their daily water needs, thereby stretching the declining amounts of stored water, so that it lasts longer. Communities are requested to use our toll-free call-centre on 0800 200 200 to report any water issues.
