Early this month‚ the department said the Umgeni Dam system in KZN with five dams serving eThekwini and Msunduzi in Pietermaritzburg increased from 70‚5% to 73‚7%. The system was at 62‚0% in the same period last year. Midmar Dam decreased from 101‚1% to 100‚5%‚ while Inanda had increased remarkably from 62‚8% to 70‚3%. This had led eThekwini Municipality to consider lifting water restrictions that were imposed due to the drought.
This week‚ the department said‚ the national average dam level is 77‚6 percent‚ an improvement of 2‚3 percent compared to 2017.
However‚ the drought-stricken Western Cape continues to decline week-on-week with the average dam level standing at 17‚6 percent.
Voelsvlei‚ which supplies Cape Town‚ has dropped from 14‚2 percent last week to 14‚1. Berg River‚ which also supplies the Mother City‚ dropped its level by 2 percent from 43‚4 percent to 41‚1 percent.
"Clanwilliam Dam on the West Coast has dried up completely and the local municipality has resorted to water tankering to supply local residents‚" the department said.