Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation, Sputnik Ratau, says nationally, dam levels – measured weekly – decreased slightly from 60,2% last week to 59,8% this week. Ratau says this is not a surprise considering the heat wave the country has been experiencing of late. North West dams decreased from 70,5% to 68,7%.
In the Free State, the Bloemfontein system decreased by 1,6% from 33,4% last week to 31,8% this week.
The Northern Cape, on the other hand, saw an increase in dam levels from 75,3% last week to 76,6% this week. This comes after the South African Weather Service told OFM News yesterday that the heatwave currently experienced in the North West, central and eastern parts of the Northern Cape, as well as Western and Central Free State, would continue till Friday with rainfall expected over the weekend. Ratau says they have been in contact with the South African Weather Service and they were informed that the country would be experiencing more rain between February and April. He says the department will have a larger picture of the water situation in the country at the end of the rainy season, which is in April.
