Agriculture
(a) To what extent has the water allocation to farmers, as managed by the Lower Olifants River Water Users Association (LORWUA), been curbed for this summer season, b) which entity is responsible for annually determining the percentage of the water quotas that may be used by quota holders and (c) to what extent will the plan to increase the capacity of the Clanwilliam Dam alleviate the challenges and uncertainty for farmers?
[a] The annual hydrological cycle for the Lower Olifants River Water User Association is from 1 October to 30 September of the following year. However, most of the allocated water will be used during the peak summer irrigation period which commenced on 1 October 2022 and will end towards the end of May 2023 after crops are harvested. Under normal conditions the water allocation for the summer irrigation cycle is in the order of 7000 m3/ha, but due to the far below average rainfall received during the winter of 2022 and the Clanwilliam Dam only reaching 88% of the full storage capacity, the water allocation for the current summer irrigation cycle was set at 4650m3/ha.
[b] The Department of Water and Sanitation [DWS] is responsible for the management of water resources at the Olifants Doorn River Catchment level and accordingly may impose water restrictions on water users. Within the jurisdiction of LORWUA, the Water User Association is responsible for water distribution and the adjustment of water use allocations for a particular period.
[c] The raising of the Clanwilliam Dam will enlarge the storage capacity of the dam with the purpose of transformation and to establish resource poor farmers, who will benefit from 75% of additional yield, while the remaining 25% of additional yield will be to improve the assurance of supply to existing water use allocations. By improving the annual assurance of supply, farmers will have more certainty on the amount of water they receive on a yearly basis. This will enable farmers to, within the crop mix, plant more profitable perennial crops.
