South Africa Drought ‘Recovery’ Forecast Even as Dam Levels Drop

(Bloomberg) -- South African weather forecasters predict an “extended period of recovery” from a drought in the next few months even as dam levels continue to drop, the Water and Sanitation Department said.

“The likelihood for extreme wet conditions is also highly favored” in the summer months of November to January, Mlimandlela Ndamase, a spokesman for Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, said in a statement Wednesday, citing data from the country's weather service. “Forecasters are indicating that South Africa's summer-rainfall areas can expect wetter conditions during November to January and the mid-summer December to February periods.”

The nation's rainfall last year was the lowest since records began more than a century ago, partly due to the El Nino weather pattern, and dry weather has persisted in 2016. The has drought caused widespread damage to crops and livestock, with rural communities particularly affected. Dry conditions have persisted this year with below-normal rainfall and higher-than-average temperatures.

The government has restricted usage by 20 percent to the Cape Town metropolitan area, and 15 percent for consumers in Gauteng, which is the most-populous province and home to Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria. Curbs are in place throughout the country.

The department plans to release water from the Sterkfontein Dam into the Vaal Dam, which services Gauteng, on Nov. 7 to protect the 25 percent minimum level. The Vaal River system, which comprises 14 dams, is 27 percent full, the province said Tuesday.

The staggered release “is to minimize any danger to communities downstream of Sterkfontein and to minimize damage to river banks, which have been dry for a considerable period of time,” Ndamase said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Crowley in Johannesburg at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Ana Monteiro