Amazing water level changes at the “place of Great Noise”

The substantial rainfall during the first couple of months of 2022 caused many people to think that an abundance of rain means that we can use excessive amounts of water. Major dams are full, water levels in rivers are higher than usual, and quite a few rivers that have not had water for over ten years are flowing again. Does an abundance of water allow us to leave taps running or dripping, or taking baths with water filled to the rim, taking long showers, washing cars more frequently, filling swimming pools?

No, not if we want to preserve our water resources. Rainwater does not last forever as it is absorbed into the ground and flows to the ocean. We are lucky to have water that we can save for the future.

Water is life. If we save water, water could save us.

The Augrabies Falls, also known as the “place of Great Noise”, has been an incredible tourist attraction during the past couple of months. It has also been a popular topic on social media due to the increased water flow through the 18-kilometre Orange River granite gorge, approximately 60 metres high and 240 metrers deep.

The rainwater from Gauteng flows with the Vaal River, via the Gariep Dam, to the Orange River and tumbles down the Augrabies Falls before the Orange River reaches the Atlantic Ocean. According to South African National Parks (SANParks), the recent rainfall caused the water flow at the falls to increase to over 3000 cumecs (cubic metre per second). Three Thousand cubic meters per second is more than the amount of water an Olympic swimming pool holds, 2 500 cubic metres.

GEOTERRAIMAGE enables companies, farmers, individuals, and industry experts to monitor our water resources. We are proud to help protect Mother Earth by developing datasets, websites, and applications through the innovative use of earth observation which assists with the sustainability of water for the future.

Every individual, every company can become part of the group that supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals number 6 – Clean water & Sanitation.

The water surface images below were obtained from South Africa’s National Water Quantity System https://www.water-southafrica.co.za/, brought to you by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) together with the Department of Science and Technology, developed by GEOTERRAIMAGE https://geoterraimage.com/ in partnership with EkoSource Insight https://www.ekosource.co.za/

You can view further details on https://www.water-southafrica.co.za/, create an image and discover the differences in water levels across the country.

“You never know the worth of water till the well is dry”. Thomas Fuller