Integrated Vaal River System levels remain stable as winter peters out
The Department of Water and Sanitation continues its appeal to Gauteng residents to continue using water sparingly as dam levels in the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) remain in a strong position this week.
According to the Department’s weekly report on the status of reservoirs, the IVRS water storage has slightly declined from last week’s 99.7% to 99.5% this week. However, the system is stronger compared to last year at the same time when the system (IVRS) was at 85.6%,
Recording a slight decline, the Vaal Dam moved from 102.1% last week to 101.4% this week. During the comparative period last year, it stood at 91.4%. .
The Grootdraai Dam, which has been on the increase week-on-week, has seen a decrease this week. It fell from last week’s 100.2% to 99.9% this week. Last year’s levels of 83.1% indicate that the dam was lower compared to the current levels.
“We attribute the declines to the dry winter season. However, we are hoping the system will see an improvement as we bid this season goodbye and await the summer season,” said spokesperson Sputnik Ratau.
For the second successive week, the Sterkfontein Dam, which is a reserve dam for the IVRS, is above 100% mark. At present it stands at 100.4% while last year in the same week it was lower at 99.6%. The Sterkfontein Dam is one of the critical dams in the system that have held firm over the months.
Ratau reiterated that the notable decline should not prompt residents to become overly concerned as most of the IVRS’s dams are still above average, even amid the decline in the overall water storage capacity, yet there is no time to be complacent. The need for lower water demand remains.
This week, the Bloemhof Dam maintains last week’s level at 106.8%. This is slightly higher, compared to the levels of 106.2% during the same week last year.
Mohale Dam continues to rise, as it remains above the neutral 90% mark. The levels of the Mohale Dam saw a slight improvement from 98.2% last week to 99.2% this week. During the same time last year, the dam stood at 31.9%, which shows that the dam had been on a consistent downward trend.
The Katse Dam remains on the impressive side. However, this week it declined slightly from 90.5% last week to 90.0% this week. This is higher compared to the 67.9% it recorded at the same time last year.
The Department of Water and Sanitation is satisfied that the IVRS, the biggest System in the country, has been able to remain positive, while all South Africans must remember that the country remains water scarce.
For more information, contact Sputnik Ratau, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation on 082 874 2942
