Day: March 1, 2023

Presidency to brief media on the President’s public programme

Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya will this afternoon, 01 March 2023, update the public, through a hybrid media briefing, on the President’s public programme.

The briefings are an interactive platform with the media, where the Spokesperson provides an update on the President’s public engagements programme and addresses relevant topical issues of public and media interest.

Source: Government of South Africa

National water levels decline marginally as rainfall subsides

The Department of Water and Sanitation’s weekly status of dams point out that the country’s water levels have recorded a moderate decrease when compared to the same period last week. This week, the overall storage capacity of the country’s water level sits at 97.5%, a relatively small reduction from last week’s 99.9%, and a considerable improvement from last year’s 92.3%.

All the country’s 14 Water Supply Systems have recorded some sort of downward movements in water levels, this drop albeit not significantly is attributed the cease of the torrential rainfall experienced in most parts of the country recently.

The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) which supplies a number of provinces dropped from 105.8% to 103.4%, Orange System decreased from 111.0% last week to 108,9%, Algoa with dams in water stressed Nelson Mandela Bay reduce faintly from 12.4% to 12.1% and Cape Town Water Supply System also shrunk from 56.4% to 56.0%.

Other Systems are Crocodile East at 101.3%, Luvuvhu slightly above 100% at 102.5%, Umhlathuze sits at 100.5%, Amathole 100.6%, Bloemfontein 100.0%, Butterworth moved slightly down from 100.5% to 100.3%, Crocodile West declined from 96.6% to 95.9%, Umgeni decreased from 103.9% to 102.3% and Polokwane reduced from 105.3% to 103.4%.

The overall provincial water storage indicates that 07 provinces have recorded downwards movements in water levels namely, KwaZulu-Natal slightly dropped from 97.6% to 91.9%, Free State declined from 109.6% to 107.1%, Gauteng decreased from 102.1% to 101.2%, Limpopo reduced somewhat from 91.6% to 90.6%, Mpumalanga dropped from 101.4% to 100.1%, Eastern Cape diminish from 80.5% to 77.9% and Western Cape declined from 49.7% to 49.2%.

Only 02 provinces are in the improvement segment they are; Northern Cape which increased substantially from 108.4% to 115.0% and North West moving slightly up from 87.2% to 88.0%.

Vaal Dam which is part of the IVRS has been full to the brim recently, this week it has decreased from last week’s went up to % is now below 108%, this is as a result of the pause in rainfall and the department’s flood control release and opening of sluice gates. To this end 05 flood gates remain open as water levels continue to decline.

Bloemhof which also part of IVRS has slightly decreased from 107.8% to 100.0%, outflow from the dam will be reduced stepwise from 1800m3 starting at 09H00 to eventually 1000m3/s at 15H00 today.

Gariep Dam which is part of Orange River Water Supply System has recorded a decrease from 112.3% to 106%, Vanderkloof Dam moved up by the slightest of from 109.0 to % to below 107%.

The Department continues to closely monitor the water flow in the affected rivers and dams and urge communities at the Lower Orange and Lower Vaal Rivers to remain vigilant and continue to exercise caution as the river levels remain high despite the slight drop.

Source: Government of South Africa

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr Senzo Mchunu together with Deputy Minister David Mahlobo, will visit the Vaal Dam and the Vaal Barrage operated by Rand Water and surrounding areas on Thursday, 02 March 2023 to assess the infrastructure and the aftermath of the recent floods in the area.

Due to torrential rains in the last few weeks, the Department of Water and Sanitation had to implement necessary dam safety precautions to safeguard the infrastructure and ensure that there was full storage capacity after the rainfall season.

Twelve (12) sluice gates were opened between the 11th and 18th February 2023 as part of dam safety standards and procedures to manage water inflows upstream the Vaal River. Seven (7) flood gates have now been closed, leaving 5 gates remaining open as the dam continues to decline towards 100% mark.

The Minister will also conduct an inspection on the Sebokeng Wastewater Treatment Works as well as the Leeukuil Dam in Vereeniging.

Members of the media are invited to the event on 02 March 2023 as follows:

Source: Government of South Africa

Today, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) kickstarts National Water Month which is conceptualised along the annual commemoration of World Water Day spearheaded by the United Nations (UN) and to be observed on 22 March 2023.

This year’s theme is “Accelerating Change”, and the Department calls on all South Africans to effect this change and to make a difference by changing the way they use, consume, and manage water in their respective lives.

The theme also seeks to inform policy and decision-makers, inside and outside the water community, how improvements in water resources management as well as access to water supply and sanitation services, are essential to overcoming poverty and addressing various other social and economic inequities.

The UN uses World Water Day as a basis for longer-term action, to ensure that everyone in the world has access to safe water by 2030, while not impacting the environment. The day is also used to bring attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

During the National Water Month, the Department together with sector stakeholders in the water sector will also observe the National Water Week between 20 to 24 March 2023, through organised advocacy activities and awareness campaigns on water conservation and sustainable use of water.

The Department will also participate in activities and deliberations at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York between 18 – 24 March.

National Water Month will enable the Department to reflect and showcase its efforts to respond to challenges of water security, infrastructure maintenance and investment, recurrent droughts driven by climatic variation, inequities in access to water and sanitation, as well as deteriorating water quality as outlined in the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan.

The highlight of the National Water Month is the launch by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu to take place in Mpumalanga province. Minister Mchunu will inspect the progress on the Loskop Regional Bulk Water Supply Project which is planned to abstract water from the Loskop Dam and to supply water to the communities of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality (THLM) under the Mpumalanga Province, and to eight (8) villages of Moutse-East area under the Sekhukhune District.

During these month-long activities, the Department will also engage various other water augmentation projects that include the Nandoni to Nsami Regional Bulk Water Project in Giyani, and the handing over of Phase 1 of the Vaalgamagara Regional Water Supply Scheme in the Northern Cape.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is working towards achieving water security and to manage water and sanitation services effectively, and through the National Water Month, it encourages entities, partners and stakeholders to participate in a new orientation around the country’s water resources in South Africa.

For more information, contact Wisane Mavasa, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation on 060 561 8935.

Source: Government of South Africa