Heavy rains raise KZN dam levels

Durban - KwaZulu Natal dam levels have increased drastically week-on-week as a result of the recent rainfall.

This was revealed in a weekly dam level report issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

According to the department’s spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, the province’s water storage capacity increased by about 1.9% last week.

He said it had risen from 69.2% recorded two weeks ago to 71.1% in the past week.

However, Ratau cautioned that the marginal increase seen week-on-week did not mean that consumers should let their guard down.

“There are some parts of the province which are still experiencing water scarcity challenges. It is for this very reason that we call on everyone to continue using water sparingly to ensure consistent supply for all,” said Ratau.

He said the Umgeni Water Supply System, which feeds five dams, is doing well above average at 80.7% from last week’s 80.2%.

According to the weekly report, dams under the Umgeni Water System were at good levels, including Midmar at 100.2%, Nagle Dam at 87.1%, Inanda Dam at 101.5% and Spring Grove at 80%.

Albert Falls Dam is slightly below average at 47.7%, from 46%.

“This is one of the province’s largest dams which stood at 34.2% during a similar period last year.”

Further afield, Ntshingwayo Dam in Newcastle rose from 86.1% to 88%, Zaaihoek increased from 73.1% to 80.7%, Pongolapoort from 51% to 53.5%, and Goedertrouw increased by 3.5% to 71.1%

Ratau said the department was looking at innovative measures to deal with water scarcity in various parts of the country.

He further stated that some of those measures included looking at desalination and cloud harvesting to create a secure water mix reserve and how groundwater could be used to augment water supply.

He added that a number of municipalities across the province had suffered damage to their water system infrastructure.

This included the Ugu District Municipality on the South Coast, where the cost of the damage ran into millions of rand.

Ratau said the department would not hesitate to deal harshly with those who continued to vandalise water infrastructure.

“Vandalism is a serious setback to government work, and it has to stop,” he said.

During the State Of the Nation Address debate, the department’s minister Lindiwe Sisulu appealed to MPs to educate residents about the importance of safeguarding water infrastructure.

She urged them to ensure that the message against infrastructure vandalism was communicated to communities.

“We regularly find that sewage is running down our streets because someone has stolen or damaged an essential part of the waste water treatment plant. Responsible citizenship means looking after the assets that the government installs to provide essential services,” Sisulu said.

The Mercury