Johannesburg: Amid rapidly rising water levels at the Vaal Dam due to heavy inflows from the upper catchments, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) will open six sluice gates to manage the water inflow of 2056.50 cubic metres per second (m3/s) of water flowing into the dam. The department announced the opening of a fifth sluice gate at 2:30pm, followed by a sixth gate at 4pm today.
According to South African Government News Agency, water outflows at Bloemhof Dam are also being increased incrementally at different times, ranging from 800 m3/s to 1050 m3/s at 9:00am, reaching up to 2000 m3/s by 5pm. These adjustments are necessary to manage the continuous rising inflows and ensure the safe operation of the Vaal and Bloemhof Dams, which were sitting at 113.54% and 107.30% by midday.
There are potential plans to further increase outflows from both dams tomorrow. One sluice gate remains open at Grootdraai Dam, with the storage capacity at 105.71% and inflows of 141.72 m³/s. In the Orange River, the Gariep and Vandekloof Dams are currently at 107.13% and 105.3% respectively and overspilling.
The department warned that the controlled and uncontrolled water releases at all these dams will lead to overtopping of riverbanks downstream of the Orange and the Vaal Rivers, resulting in flooding of settlements in lower-lying areas within the 1 in 100-year floodline. People living within the floodline downstream of the Vaal and Bloemhof Dams who have evacuated should continue to avoid the flooded areas as the river catchment remains oversaturated.