Vaal residents to use water sparingly as Dam levels decline

The Department of Water and Sanitation has appealed to water consumers to continue using water responsibly after Gauteng’s main source of water supply, the Vaal Dam, continued to decline this week.

“Vaal Dam stood at 34.6% last year during the same week. This week, the dam stands at a stable level of 84.6%. This indicates a minor drop from last week’s 85.8%,” the department said on Wednesday.

Other dams that have seen a decline this week include the Grootdraai and the Bloemhof.

“The Grootdraai Dam fell from 78.1% last week to 76.8% this week. Despite this week’s decline, the present levels of the dam are in a healthier state compared to the 77.3% the dam recorded at the same time last year.

“The Bloemhof Dam is currently slightly lower at 103.3%, as compared to the 104.3%, last week but up from last year’s 93.6% at the same period,” the department said.

The department said on the downward trend this week is the Sterkfontein Dam, which is a reserve dam for the Integrated Vaal River System. The dam decreased from 104.3% last week to 103.3% this week. During the preceding year at the same week, the dam was equally stronger when it stood at 93.6%.

Meanwhile, both the Katse and Mohale dams in the neighboring Kingdom of Lesotho, continue to decline week-on-week.

“The Mohale Dam continued to be a cause for concern as it floundered to lower levels. The dam fell from a poor 30.6% to 30.3 %. In the comparative period last year, the dam was at 4.6%,” the department said.

The level of the Katse Dam is continuing to slightly drop, as it went from a comfortable 64.6% last week to 64.1% this week. However, this is a huge improvement from last year’s level of 24.8%.

The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) which consists of 14 dams, continues to be in a stable position and to withstand the pressure put on it as a result of some critical dams in the system recording a decline in levels.

“Despite its fall this week, the IVRS is still resilient at 82.6 % following a drop from last week’s 83.2%. The system was poorer in the preceding year in the same week when it recorded at 58.3%,” the department said.