Gamtoos Irrigation Boad
The Gamtoos Irrigation Board said it was celebrating on Wednesday after the Kouga Dam surpassed the 50% mark following good recent rains.
The Board said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that two years ago, the Kouga Dam was down to just 4% of total capacity during the long-running drought.
"We're grateful to all agricultural users who weathered the severe water restrictions and the difficult conditions. We also appreciate our team for efficiently managing our system with little water," the Board said.
Meanwhile, in a social media post this week, weather office spokesperson, Garth Sampson, noted that over 100 milimetres of rain fell over the catchment area over the past month.
He also predicted that the Churchill Dam should also hit 70% soon while he said the Impofu Dam slowly crept to around 13% of total capacity.
"Remember at a level of 65% combined capacity is when DWS (Department of Water and Sanitation) will consider easing restrictions. A long way to go with a dry summer forecast," said Sampson, who was commenting in his personal capacity.
According to the latest figures from Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Tuesday, the combined capacity of the four main supply dams was 40.60%.
The Churchill Dam was 67.37% of total capacity, Impofu Dam was at 13.17%, Loerie Dam at 100%, and Groendal Dam was at 100% of capacity.
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Churchill Dam (Image: Northfield Engineering)
