The Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) Weekly State of Reservoirs indicates that the Northern Cape’s average water storage is 89.2%, a decline from last week’s 92.7%.
The DWS urges Municipalities, business, civil society and residents of the Northern Cape to continue implementing water conservation programmes by fixing burst and leaking pipes, and regularly monitoring boreholes to adhere to recommended yields to avoid over abstracting. Behavioural change in water consumption will contribute immensely towards improving the water situation in the Northern Cape.
The Vanderkloof Dam, the second biggest dam in the country and bordering the Free State and Northern Cape is at 99.2%, while the Orange River System is at 94.4%, slightly down from 94.8% last week.
The Douglas Storage Weir in the Vaal River is at 109.3%. The full supply capacity of the Weir is 16.245 million m3. The Boegoeberg Dam in the Orange River is at 72.5%, while the Spitskop Dam in the Harts River is at 101.8%.The Vaalharts Weir in the Vaal River has declined sharply from 86.6 to 76.8%.
The Karee Dam that provides water to Calvinia is this week at 12.2%, and very concerning.
Kindly take note that the Northern Cape has balancing dams, not storage dams. The difference being that a storage dam’s primary purpose is for long term water storage while balancing dams are designed to act as multipurpose facilities by diverting water into canals, pipelines or act as pumping stations. As a result, water levels in the Northern Cape fluctuate and vary from week to week.
For more information, contact:
putnik Ratau, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation
Cell: 082 874 2942
Amogelang Moholoeng
Cell: 082 653 1682
