Loskop Dam still above 100% despite continuous drop in Nkangala dam levels
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) weekly state of reservoirs report of 20 July 2020 shows that the Loskop Dam in the Olifants catchment in the Nkangala District of the Mpumalanga Province remains the only listed dam with water volumes above the 100% mark despite continuous drops in the province. According to the latest report, the Loskop Dam recorded an unchanged 100.1% in terms of water volumes.
Despite the Loskop staying afloat above 100%, elsewhere water levels continued to decline with the Mpumalanga Province recording an average drop of 0.5% from last week’s 72.1% to 71.6%. This translates to 1818.3 cubic meters of water in storage out of the required full capacity of 2538.6 cubic meters and is better than the same period last year when the average water levels in the listed dams stood at 69.6%.
Water levels in the water management areas (WMA) also declined over the week, with the Olifants WMA dropping from 66.7% to 66.4% which is better than last year’s 58.4% and the Inkomati-Usuthu WMA dropping from 69.4% to 68.8% which is less than the 73.0% recorded at the same year.
The rest of the listed dams in the Nkangala District recorded drops in water volumes with the Witbank Dam dropping from 98.1% to 97.6%, Middelburg Dam dropping from 92.3% to 91.7% and the critically low Rhenosterkop Dam dropping from 2.1% to 1.9%.
As most of the country, including the Mpumalanga Province, is still in the dry winter season with limited or no rainfall at all, the Department of Water and Sanitation would like to commend water users for using water wisely and sparingly and encourage them to continue with their water conservation initiatives to ensure that there is enough water available, especially as the country and the world continue the fight against the deadly coronavirus. The Department urges the public to continue being responsible water users for water security in our dry and water-scarce country.
For more information, contact
Sputnik Ratau:
Cell: 082 874 2942
or
Themba Khoza
066 301 6962
