The Department of Water and Sanitation has opened five sluice gates at the Vaal Dam at hourly intervals, following heavy rains in the area.
According to the department, the gates were opened at intervals from 10:00 until 13:00, increasing the water outflows from 60 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) to 700 mᵌ/s.
The department said it also increased the outflows of the Bloemhof Dam 120 to 250 mᵌ/s at 10:00, and to 400 mᵌ/s at 14:00. This, according to the department, is due to the rising water levels at both dams due to the ongoing rains in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, including other parts of the country where rains have been persistent.
Both Vaal and Bloemhof Dams have respectively recorded 108.47% and 99.81% on Monday morning.
“Due to increased water releases by the five sluice gates, there may be possible overflowing of the riverbanks downstream.This may affect infrastructure built in lower-lying areas within the floodplain and communities are urged to be alert to the rising water levels,” read a statement from the department.
This is the second time this year that the department has been forced to open the sluice gates at the Dam, following heavy rains that battered the area in April. Furthermore, the department has urged communities around the Vaal Triangle, Parys, and low-lying areas next to the river to be cautious, and farmers that have pumps and infrastructure directly next to the river to take steps to safeguard them.
“Those residing in the riparian areas of the Vaal River are also urged to be alert and remove valuable equipment, movable infrastructure, and livestock as river levels may continue to rise. As part of the dam safety protocols, sluice gates are opened for controlled water releases when dam levels rise sharply and to prevent the water resource infrastructure from failing, as it may lead to a dam bursting and causing a disaster of unimaginable magnitude,” added the statement.
The department highlighted that it is forced to implement these necessary controlled water releases at the dams “as part of dam safety precautions to safeguard the infrastructure and to protect human life.”
