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GEORGE NEWS AND VIDEO - The falling water level of the Garden Route Dam, week after week since May, and weather predictions of low rainfall and higher-than-usual spring and summer temperatures are stirring unease among those who experienced the harsh 2010 drought.
In June of that year, the level had dropped to below 20%. That was before the dam had 2 500 000m³ of capacity added through the raising of the spillway.
George Municipality's current extension of the water treatment infrastructure to the tune of about half a billion rand is reassuring, says the Garden Route Dam Action Group's chairperson, Desireé du Preez, but concerns remain about where the raw water will be coming from to supply in the growing demand.
The city currently supplies potable water to more than 294 942 residents and the average daily demand for August up to 6 September was 38M/day.
According to Jannie Koegelenberg, director of Civil Engineering Services, the average daily demand for August 2015 was 29.29M/day, reflecting growth in consumption over the past decade in line with population growth. The upgrades of the water treatment works is upping treatment capacity to 60M/day.
The dam level, at 71.9% on 9 September, has been dropping a few percentage points every week since the the middle of June when it was still at a reassuring 92.44%.
The last good downpour, according to the municipality's records, was measured over the first and second week in June (47.5mm and 29mm respectively). Since then, a few drizzles here and there were not enough to stop the downward trend.
The dry conditions are prevailing throughout the Garden Route.
Speaking to George Herald contributor Jeff Ayliff, local environmentalist Mark Dixon said the district finds itself in the driest May to September cycle since 1880.
Residents' rainwater tanks have mostly run dry, and in the Rondevlei area, people are starting to buy water for domestic use. Dixon said one of the signs of the drought is evergreen trees that are shedding leaves to reduce transpiration so that they have water for normal functioning.
VIDEO - Garden Route water supply in the balance:
According to Karatara resident Ritchie Morris, who has been keeping rainfall statistics for over nine years, the 363mm he measured in the first seven months of 2025 in that area is quite below average, and good rains would be needed until end December to bring the year up to a desirable total.
According to the South African Weather Services' (Saws) five-month forecast, although predictions indicate that the country is moving towards a weak La Niña weather system (which brings rain), it is still too early to make any reliable conclusions regarding its effect in coming months. Saws does expect below-average rainfall for the Garden Route. Maximum temperatures are largely expected to be above normal.
This means faster evaporation from the dam. At the same time, George will experience the usual December holiday increase in demand. (During the December/January 2025 holiday period, the demand averaged at 39.7M/day.)
Overflowing in May 2023.
Water restrictions
Koegelenberg said the city's drought management policy is being reviewed. Currently, stricter water restrictions would apply should the dam capacity reach 60%. "The municipality continues to monitor dam levels and consumption trends closely and will keep residents informed should any changes to restrictions become necessary."
Water restrictions have been in place since 2021 due to capacity constraints at the water purification works, and were reviewed in May 2024. Level B restrictions are currently in place.
Jannie Koegelenberg
Ultrafiltration plant
Koegelenberg said concept and viability assessments are under way for getting the ultrafiltration plant (that filters waste water effluent) up and running. It has been lying dormant since after the 2010 drought.
"This assessment includes the cost to upgrade and reimplement the facility, as well as the associated ongoing operational and maintenance costs.
"The reimplementation of the plant will be costly - a couple of hundred million in capital - and the municipality will have to obtain external funds to support the project's implementation.
"Based on an economic feasibility and socio-economic impact study, the implementation of this re-use facility is a viable option."
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