In February of this year, the owners of the Eikenhof dam in Grabouw, Western Cape, made the decision to donate 10 billion litres of water to the Cape Town water supply. At the start of the year, the day zero crisis reached its worst point, with municipal dams less than 20% full and the city staring down the barrel of a water system shutdown.
However, two major factors helped ease these fears and kick-started the recovery of the municipal dam network. Firstly, agricultural water usage was put under severe limitations. Then, a more charitable act stole the headlines.
Johan Groenwald is the CEO of the Groenland Water Users Association, decided that Grabouw and Elgin had enough water for their season.
Now, after six months, the Eikenhof dam is now officially 100% full. In fact, it’s 100.7% full, if we’re being precise. Two cold fronts over the last four days in the Western Cape have pushed dam levels past the 60% mark for the first time since 2016.
After sacrificing their supply for “the greater good”, Groenwald and the crew have been rewarded in the best possible manner. That fantastic community spirit in the Cape has come out on top yet again.
Source: thesouthafrican.com
