Amathole safe but Algoa at dire water level

The Amathole Water System which feeds the BCM area is sitting comfortably at a level of 90.58% – considerably better than the struggling Algoa System that feeds Nelson Mandela Bay, which is at an alarming 19.71%.

While the Amathole dam levels are still high, they have dropped slightly, by 0.3%, in the past three weeks.

All the dams have shown fairly consistent levels over the past month, with only the Nahoon and Rooikrantz dams dropping roughly 3% in this time period.

The Algoa system has dropped 0.5 % in the same time period, down from 20.22%.

However, domestic restrictions only kick in when the level reaches 15%. The dams with the lowest levels are the Kouga and Churchill dams at 7.8% and 17% respectively.

The Xilinxa dam, serving Butterworth, has seen a dramatic increase of around 50% from the same time last year. It is now sitting at 52.9% compared to 2.1% last year.

The strong dam levels in the Amathole region are at odds with the rainfall in the past month, which has been low. The most rain was received in Grahamstown (7ml) and Cradock (3ml). Graaff-Reinet, Mthatha, Port Alfred and Stutterheim all received 2ml.

East London, Fort Beaufort and Uitenhage received only 1ml. Ellliot did not get a drop.

A statement issued by the department of water and sanitation revealed that national dam levels were steady at 79.7% this week.