Johannesburg – The Department of Water and Sanitation in KwaZulu-Natal has called on residents to use water sparingly as the winter season approaches.
This comes as the weekly status of dams reports showed a marginal increase from last week’s 72.1% to 72.4% this week. Compared to a similar period last year, the province’s dam levels stood at 60.9%.
The Umgeni Water Supply System, with dams supplying water to eThekwini Metro and surrounds, has increased from 82.8% to 83.1%. This time last year, it recorded 69.8%.
The department has called on residents to use water prudently, as it is anticipating that the dry winter season will have a major impact on water levels.
“We have some districts that are still experiencing the effects of drought and this is a major concern for the department. The districts include Uthukela, Umzinyathi, Amajuba, Zululand, Uthungulu and Umgungundlovu areas,” department spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, said.
Ratau said the department has several ongoing short, medium and long-term interventions designed to mitigate drought effects in these districts.
“One of the short-term measures is ensuring that the water tanks we provided this time last year are always filled up with water in order to enable communities that continue to experience inconsistent water supply to have water,” Ratau said.
One of the province’s largest dam, Albert-Falls, has marginally increased from last week’s 52.3% to 52.4%, while the Nagle Dam declined from 85.3% to 83.4%.
Inanda Dam has decreased from 101.1% to 100.7%; Midmar Dam is at 100.5% from 100.1%, while Hazelmere Dam has increased from 53.8% to 54.2%.
– SAnews.gov.za
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