Four months after the department of water and sanitation had opened five sluice gates to reduce the Vaal Dam capacity, which resulted in flooding in low-lying areas near the riverbank, the department has issued a warning of a possible repeat.
On Monday afternoon, the department announced they had opened five sluice gates at hourly intervals from 10am to 1pm.
Due to increased water releases by the five sluice gates, there may be possible overflowing of the riverbanks downstream, and this may affect infrastructure built in lower-lying areas within the floodplain and communities are urged to be alert to the rising water levels
— Mandla Mathebula, department spokesperson
Department spokesperson Mandla Mathebula said this was done to gradually increase water outflows.
“At Bloemhof Dam, water outflows have also been increased from 60 to 250 cubic metres per second at 10:00 (10am), and to 400 cubic metres per second at 14:00 (2pm). This 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,” said Mathebula.
He said the Vaal and Bloemhof Dams have respectively recorded 108.47% and 99.81% levels this morning.
“Due to increased water releases by the five sluice gates, there may be possible overflowing of the riverbanks downstream, and this may affect infrastructure built in lower-lying areas within the floodplain and communities are urged to be alert to the rising water levels,” he said.
Mahlangu said communities around the Vaal Triangle, Parys, and low-lying areas next to the river must be cautious, and farmers who have pumps and infrastructure directly next to the river urged 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,” he said.
He said the department will continue to actively monitor the inflow water levels at both Vaal and Bloemhof dams.
Sowetan
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