Water and Sanitation on Water Status | Vaal Dam continues to decline but defies icy winter.
The Vaal Dam has this week continued to slightly drop despite hovering at reasonably firm levels which have defied the frosty and dry winter conditions.
The Vaal Dam is part of the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) and contributes massively to the economy of Gauteng as well as the African Continent.
Slightly declining this week, the Vaal Dam shrunk from 65.2% last week to 64.3% this week. Judged against last year’s levels when the dam sat 97.5%, the dam has been progressively decreasing.
Despite the decrease, the Vaal Dam has shown a healthy increase since 2016 when Gauteng was under the grip of an unprecedented drought. This saw water consumers in the province having to adapt to their consumption patterns in order to stave off the possibility of taps running dry.
The centrality of the Vaal Dam is shown in its water supply to Gauteng industries that include, but not limited, to the petro-chemical giant Sasol and the singularly important electricity giant Eskom.
This week, the Grootdraai Dam is slightly higher when compared with the Vaal Dam. Presently, the Grootdraai Dam is sitting at 64.3%, despite a decline from 68.2% last week. During the preceding year at the same time, the dam was floating at 89.5%.
Similarly, the Sterkfontein Dam has recorded a trivial decrease from 92.5% last week to 92.4% this week. The current levels of the Sterkfontein Dam indicate that it is significantly higher compared to the Vaal Dam. Last year at the same period the Sterkfontein Dam was at 95.3%.
Regardless of breaking through the 100% mark last week, the Bloemhof Dam has declined this week. The dam moved from 100.1% last week to 99.7% this week. In terms of levels, the Vaal Dam is lagging seriously being when judged against the Bloemhof Dam. So unfailingly firm is the Bloemhof Dam that last year at the same period it had notched up to 102.9%
The levels of the Katse and the Mohale dams continued to dip to precariously lower levels this week. The Katse Dam tilted downwards, falling from 23.7% last week to 22.3% this week. In the comparative period last year, the dam recorded acceptable levels of 56.7%.
Not much different from the Katse Dam, the Mohale Dam has seen a decline this week, declining from 33.3% last week to 33.2% this week. During the same period last year the dam floated at 25.6%.
The Department of Water and Sanitation in Gauteng wishes to impress the message of water conservation on consumers. The Department believes the reliability of water supply to be partly dependent in the manner consumers use water. The Department is therefore calling on both businesses and the public to use water with due consideration for other water users.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942 or
Hosia Sithole
Cell: 082 723 2442