Dam · Mpumalanga · South Africa · DWS
Heyshope Dam
100.3% full
Total capacity
445 hm³
River
Assegaai
Basin
Inkomati-Usuthu
Primary use
water supply
Operator
DWS
Coordinates
26.867°S, 30.800°E
Last updated
2026-10-19
Current fill
100.3%vs 7 days ago
-0.1 pplosing
vs 1 year ago
+0.6 ppyear-over-year
7-day trend
→stable
Drought context
Rain over the last three months · 11 October 2026
Near normal
In the three months to 11 October 2026 the area around Heyshope Dam had rain close to normal for the season. Rainfall compared with the long-run record for the same season at this point (Copernicus Global Drought Observatory, SPI-3 index +0.32). Rain, not storage. South Africa drought figures →
Weekly storage
Fill history — multi-year
About this dam
Dam height
64 m
Year built
1986
Dam type
Earthfill
Data source
official
Storage data: Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) Weekly State of Dams report, South Africa.
Catchment Weather
Past 30 days + 14-day forecast · Open-Meteo
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics. Map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors. 26.867°S, 30.800°E · Open in Google Maps
About Heyshope Dam
As of October 19, 2026, Heyshope Dam is filled to 100.3% of its total capacity, holding 446.3 hm³ of water out of a maximum 445 hm³. At this level the reservoir is effectively full.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has held broadly steady (-0.1 pp), and it sits close to where it was a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Heyshope Dam — 20 data points between October 19, 2025 and October 19, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 99.7% (October 19, 2025) to a high of 101.8% (September 21, 2026). On average the reservoir is fullest around September and at its lowest around August.
The dam at Heyshope Dam stands 64 m tall and is a earthfill dam and was completed in 1986. It is operated by DWS primarily for water supply. It lies within the Inkomati-Usuthu basin at 26.867°S, 30.800°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 100.3% of total capacity
- Water stored
- 446.3 hm³
- Total capacity
- 445 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▼ 0.1 pp
- Year-on-year
- ▲ 0.6 pp
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Assegaai
- River basin
- Inkomati-Usuthu
- Dam height
- 64 m
- Year completed
- 1986
- Operator
- DWS
- Coordinates
- 26.867°S, 30.800°E
- Last updated
- October 19, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | 100.3% | 446.3 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 100.4% | 446.8 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 100.8% | 448.6 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 101.2% | 450.3 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 101.8% | 453 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 100.0% | 444.9 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 100.1% | 445.4 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | 100.1% | 445.4 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | 99.8% | 444.1 |
| 3 Aug 2026 | 99.9% | 444.5 |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 100.2% | 445.8 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | 100.9% | 448.9 |
Nearby reservoirs
See also: South Africa dam levels, explained — how the DWS Weekly State of Dams report becomes the national and provincial figures.