Dam · KwaZulu-Natal · South Africa · DWS
Hluhluwe Dam
79.5% full
Total capacity
25.9 hm³
River
Hluhluwe River
Basin
Pongola-Mtamvuna
Primary use
water supply
Operator
DWS South Africa
Coordinates
28.122°S, 32.180°E
Last updated
2026-10-19
Current fill
79.5%vs 7 days ago
-1.3 pplosing
vs 1 year ago
-18.7 ppyear-over-year
7-day trend
↓falling
Drought context
Rain over the last three months · 11 October 2026
Near normal
In the three months to 11 October 2026 the area around Hluhluwe 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 +0.31). Rain, not storage. South Africa drought figures →
Weekly storage
Fill history — multi-year
About this dam
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. 28.122°S, 32.180°E · Open in Google Maps
About Hluhluwe Dam
As of October 19, 2026, Hluhluwe Dam is filled to 79.5% of its total capacity, holding 20.6 hm³ of water out of a maximum 25.9 hm³. At this level the reservoir is within its normal operating range.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has fallen by 1.3 percentage points, and it is 18.7 points below its level on the same date a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Hluhluwe Dam — 20 data points between October 19, 2025 and October 19, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 79.5% (October 19, 2026) to a high of 98.2% (October 19, 2025). On average the reservoir is fullest around May and at its lowest around September.
It is operated by DWS South Africa primarily for water supply. It lies within the Pongola-Mtamvuna basin at 28.122°S, 32.180°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 79.5% of total capacity
- Water stored
- 20.6 hm³
- Total capacity
- 25.9 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▼ 1.3 pp
- Year-on-year
- ▼ 18.7 pp
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Hluhluwe River
- River basin
- Pongola-Mtamvuna
- Operator
- DWS South Africa
- Coordinates
- 28.122°S, 32.180°E
- Last updated
- October 19, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | 79.5% | 20.6 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 80.8% | 20.9 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 81.5% | 21.1 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 81.5% | 21.1 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 81.8% | 21.2 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 83.3% | 21.6 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 84.2% | 21.8 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | 85.1% | 22 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | 85.6% | 22.2 |
| 3 Aug 2026 | 86.7% | 22.4 |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 87.6% | 22.7 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | 91.2% | 23.6 |
Nearby reservoirs
See also: South Africa dam levels, explained — how the DWS Weekly State of Dams report becomes the national and provincial figures.