Kruger Drought/Dry Seasons and Dam Levels

[Flutterby]

I'm not sure about the windmill, but it is a heart-wrenching picture.

[Richprins]

Ag, they will find water somewhere, especially eland.

[Dzombo]

We found a couple of windmills in the area this October that were standing fine but water was not getting to the troughs from the reservoir, or to the reservoir from the pump.

Is that due to lack of ground water?
Or lack of maintenance?

[Lisbeth]

I'm not sure about the windmill, but it is a heart-wrenching picture.

Maybe the eland is not thirsty, but only looking at the bird (Trying to be positive)

[Richprins]

If there is water in the reservoir but not the troughs it is a maintenance issue. The boreholes almost never run dry.

[Peter Betts]

The Windmill was a wreck in Sept (Done on purpose by Mooiplaas Rangers Section staff) and the Section Ranger showed me that the windmill has been replaced by a Solar Panel ..Eventually that whole waterhole is being closed permanently as part of their program to conserve everything ...So at the moment there is water from the Solar pump to the resevoir for the ellies who will need to be weaned off and made to go 12 kms to the East to Shawu Vlei = Plenty of natural Moisture

No need to feel sad about the Eland ..They are NOT water dependant and they trot everywhere and were just trying their luck If Really thirsty they would normally trot over to Shawu 3 12 kms by road and about 8 as the crow flies due East and that would take them about 50 mins at Eland Trot Pace so while it looked gruesome its not

[Peter Betts]

We found a couple of windmills in the area this October that were standing fine but water was not getting to the troughs from the reservoir, or to the reservoir from the pump.

Is that due to lack of ground water?
Or lack of maintenance?

No its the Park's plan to shut down these windmills that were man made with little science behind them at the time ..This policy is actually to protect species like Eland and Roan who have their areas flattened unnaturally by the free loaders

[Richprins]

They reopened some windmills during the drought, so that policy went out the window. The southern and central windmills have nothing to do with rare antelope.

[Peter Betts]

They reopened some windmills during the drought, so that policy went out the window. The southern and central windmills have nothing to do with rare antelope.

This policy will be implemented over time so yes opening and closing will happen ..Its not just rare antelope but whole echo systems that are at play here

[Lisbeth]

Not Kruger, but the rain does not know borders

The water levels in the Lowveld continues to decrease drastically despite some much needed rain last week.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) weekly state of reservoirs report of Monday, the average dam levels dropped from 70.4 per cent to 69.5 per cent with the water management areas also recording declines in water volumes, with the Olifants catchment dropping from 60.6 per cent to 60.2 per cent and the Inkomati-Usuthu catchment dropping from 72.7 per cent to 71.4.

These dams all show a downward trend

• Driekoppies Dam from 63.9 to 63.4,

• Witklip Dam from 77.5 to 76.2,

• Inyaka Dam from 65.0 to 63.1,

• Da Gama Dam from 67.4 to 63.1,

• Kwena Dam from 55.7 to 48.7

• Blyderivierpoort Dam from 52.6 to 50.3

• Longmere Dam from 65.6 to 64.4

• Primkop Dam from 41.7 to 38.7 and the

• Klipkopjes Dam recorded a slight increase from 52.5 to 53.0.