Earlier this year, the Groenland Water Users’ (GWUA) Association kindly donated 10-billion litres of water from the Eikenhof Dam near Grabouw. They opened the sluice gates and sent water to Cape Town when its water resources were in dire need of replenishment.
GWUA received no payment or funding for the release of its water – it was an act of pure kindness.
Chief Executive Officer of GWUA, Johan Groenewald, said the water was a donation from farmers in Elgin and Grabouw. It came mainly from the Eikenhof water scheme and private dams in the Upper Kogelberg catchment area.
“We were blessed [with rain], even though it is not as much as usual,” he said to News24 at the time of the release.
The dam of kindness has now reached 100.7% six months after its generous donation. This can be attributed to same two cold fronts that pushed the City’s municipal dam levels over 60% water storage.
Eikenhof now has a problem that the City’s dams do not – they now have such a surplus of water that it is flowing over the dam wall.
Groenewald told Cape Town Etc that they feel “blessed” have received bountiful rains. On average, the dams that fall into the GWUA’s jurisdiction receive approximately 750mm of water per year. Over the last few years, their dams have received considerably less water, with an average of 300mm per year.
Picture: Groenland Water Users Association