Widespread rain welcomed but some provincial dams are still too empty

The water and sanitation department on Thursday welcomed the rain that has been falling steadily in some parts of the country but expressed concern over provinces where dam levels have dropped.

"It’s a good thing that the rain is falling consistently over time, especially in the catchment areas," said spokesman Sputnik Ratau.

On Thursday, the SA Weather Service issued a warning for heavy rain across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

But Ratau said North West dam levels had declined "considerably". Dam levels had also dropped in Mpumalanga.

"Dams in North West are at 58% compared with 67.5% last year. This is a concern."

Dams in Mpumalanga are also down from last year.

"Mpumalanga dams are at 69% full compared with last year's 76.8%," said Ratau.

On the positive side, though, Gauteng's dams are slightly fuller than they were in 2018 - 94.3% compared with last year’s 93%," said Ratau.

He said the average national dam level was 73.2%, three percentage points better than last year.