To augment dwindling water levels in the Free State, the Department of Water and Sanitation has released water from the Saulsport dam to benefit areas such as Frankfort, Tweeling and Reitz.

The department on Monday said the Saulsport dam was in a better state this week, at 80%, compared with most other dams in the province.

It added that the release of water from the dam would be a big relief to the three areas, as they were becoming water stressed.

The scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Lesotho Highland Water Project, which is expected to be completed later this month, has affected water supply in Frankfort, which gets its water from Liebensvlei river and the Lower Wilge river.

In terms of the overall water levels in the province, the weekly dam levels report issued by the department showed that water storage had declined to 70.8% this week, from last week’s 72.1%.

This is also a significant decline from the levels of 83.5% recorded over the same period last year.

The hot temperatures in most parts of the country have had repercussions on water resources with demand for water use increasing and dams evaporating.

The department has again appealed to all water users to reduce consumption and save water.