By Majirata Latela
The ministry of water has assured the nation that the reduced water levels in Katse and Mohale Dam will not impact the generation of electricity in the country and the delivery of water into South Africa.
Katse and Mohale dams have seen a decrease in water levels the past months going as low as 34 percent and nine percent respectively but the ministry says Lesotho will keep delivering water to South Africa because chances are very low that the water will be finished before we experience another rainfall.
Lesotho Highlands Water Commission’s Chief Delegate Mzamo Lephoma has indicated that chances are near but also very low that the dams will run dry.
“Lesotho weather and hydrological patterns have shown that we have nine years of drought and nine years of rain interchangeably.
“From 2012 Lesotho experienced drought until last year when we started having good rains. This shows that in the next eights year Lesotho will continue to have good rains and all the dams will be filled with water that will sustain the country.
“The 34 percent that is in Katse Dam now can sustain us till May next year and that does not mean we will not have rains at all until next year,” he said.
He added that not only does government should be continuing to build more dams but the communities should also start digging small dams in their areas to keep water when it rains, which they will use during times of drought.
“Lesotho should invest in more dams so that when it rains, we have a place where we can keep water for later use; for example, if Maseru did not have Metolong last year when drought hit hard on the country, it could have resulted in a crisis. But because of the dam Maseru, Berea and other places never felt the pinch because Metolong had enough water to supply them during that time,” Lephoma explained.
Last year the Dam, which is the centrepiece of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase I, saw its water levels drop drastically to 15 percent, prompting LHDA to stop water delivery to South Africa for about a month. The delivery of water resumed in December 2019.
According to the department of water affairs’ principal hydrologist, Billy Makakole, the Katse Dam level of water as recorded on September 8 2019 was sitting at 2005.497 metres above sea level (masl). This translates to a volume of 254.60 million cubic meters (mcm), which is only 16.76 percent of Katse Dam’s full supply level.
