KwaZulu-Natal has seen widespread and persistent rainfall over recent days, with towns and cities across the province experiencing sustained wet weather. The key question now is whether this rainfall has effectively replenished the province’s catchment areas and strengthened dam storage heading into the summer period.
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) latest provincial status update, dated 1 December 2025, most of KwaZulu-Natal’s dams are showing encouraging increases.
Several major reservoirs are now above 100% capacity, while others are steadily improving. The overall trend points to a positive shift in provincial water security.
However, a few key systems — including Ntshingwayo, Nagle and Spring Grove — remain below 90%, highlighting uneven rainfall distribution and the continued need for consistent monitoring.
Below is the Department of Water and Sanitation’s most recent assessment of KwaZulu-Natal’s dam levels:
- Albert Falls Dam: up from 95.75% to 97.3%
- Bivane Dam: unchanged at 95%
- Craigie Burn Dam: 100.6% (slight decrease from 100.7%)
- Goedetrouw Dam: 95.3%, up from 95.2%
- Hazelmere Dam: stable at 100.3%
- Hluhluwe Dam: increased from 100% to 101.4%
- Inanda Dam: up from 101.9% to 102.1%
- Klipfontein Dam: slight decline from 101.5% to 100.5%
- Mearns Dam: up from 100.7% to 101.8%
- Midmar Dam: significant rise from 93.9% to 96.2%
- Nagle Dam: sharp decline from 100.5% to 88.7%
- Ntshingwayo (Chelmsford) Dam: 81.2%, up from 80.6% but still below provincial averages
- Pongolapoort Dam: up from 82.7% to 84.2%
- Spioenkop Dam: unchanged at 100.8%
- Spring Grove Dam: increased from 70.6% to 74.3%
- Wagendrift Dam: 101.0%, slightly down from 102.7%
- Woodstock Dam: stable at 97.5%
- Zaaihoek Dam: consistent at 100.5%
Overall, the latest December figures present a positive outlook for KwaZulu-Natal’s water supply. Recent rainfall has delivered substantial relief to most catchment areas, pushing many dams to full or near-full capacity.
However, as highlighted by the Auditor-General, water wastage caused by ageing and poorly maintained infrastructure remains a serious concern.
Without urgent municipal intervention, these losses could undermine the benefits of improved dam levels across the province. To read more about this, click here.
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