Communities in the Eastern Cape have been warned to use water sparingly, as dam levels in some parts of the province continue to decline.
The appeal comes from the department of water and sanitation (DWS) as it intensifies efforts to reduce water consumption.
The decline in dam levels has been attributed to persistent dry weather conditions in some parts of the province.
According to the department’s latest weekly status report on dam levels, the provincial average storage dropped to 76.9% last week, compared to 77.7% last week.
Water and sanitation spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said the decline was most notable within the Algoa Water Supply System, which supplies water to the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality, where overall storage has decreased from 60.8% to 60.0% last week.
“Several key dams in the system continue to experience gradual declines,” he said.
He said Loerie Dam in Kouga dropped slightly from 77.5% to 77.1% while Kouga Dam dropped from 66.9% to 65.6% and Impofu Dam in Humansdorp remains critically low at below 50%.
In contrast, the Amathole Water Supply System remains relatively stable at 94.9%, compared to 95.3% last week.
Mavasa said some dams within the department’s system have shown minor decreases, with Buffalo City metro’s Nahoon Dam at 84.7%, Bridle Drift Dam at 91.4%, and Rooikrans Dam at 87.4%, while Laing Dam remains full at 100%.
The Klipplaat Water Supply System also recorded a slight decline from 98.1% last week to 96.8% this week.
Waterdown, Tsojana Macubeni dams in Amathole remain at “comfortable levels” above 90%.
“The department calls on residents, businesses and municipalities to adopt water-saving measures and to use water responsibly,” Mavasa said.
The appeal comes as the province’s water services utility, Amatola Water, received a thumbs up from the SA National Accreditation System (SANAS) for meeting the required water quality standards.
Amatola Water received accreditation confirmation in accordance with SANA’s ISO/IEC 17025 standard following a detailed audit.
Amatola Water acting CEO Jackson Johnathan said: “Achieving ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is a significant milestone for Amatola Water. It reflects our commitment to excellence and our dedication to providing high-quality water services.
“This accreditation not only enhances our credibility but also strengthens public confidence in the water we provide to communities across the Eastern Cape.”
The water utility said the accreditation reflected its capability to deliver reliable, high-quality water testing services to its stakeholders and communities.
The accreditation includes international benchmarking standards where the province’s laboratories are said to have met global standards.
According to the Blue Drop report released in 2023, about 46% of water in the country was regarded as poor or not microbiologically safe to drink.
The report said 54% of the system achieved “excellent” or “good” outcomes, while 46% had poor or bad microbiological water quality compliance.
This is based on water quality tests carried out by municipalities themselves during the 2021/2022 municipal financial year.
The department issued non-compliance notices to those municipalities, instructing them to issue advisory notices to their residents that their water might not be safe to drink if it had not been tested properly.
Daily Dispatch
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