Water and Sanitation opens sluice gate at Vaal dam

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has opened one sluice gate of the Vaal Dam at 12pm today in order to increase releases, owing to the swift rising of water levels at the dam due to the continuous rainfall.

The dam is currently sitting at 106.14% and the increased outflows seek to keep the dam at 105%. The opened sluice gate is expected to release between 110 to 130 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) and will remain open over the long weekend and dam levels continue to be closely monitored to ensure that any further action is activated depending on the level of water in the dam.

All outlet valves that were previously opened and were releasing 60.1 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) of water at the Vaal Dam have now been closed because they do not have the required capacity to release the required volumes.

The current water release by single sluice gate is within the safe operational limits and is not expected to lead to overtopping of riverbanks downstream.

At Bloemhof dam, outflows have also been increased to 250 mᵌ/s from 10 am today through the pipes and to allow for the extra flows that are expected from Vaal Dam in about 3 to 4 days and to keep the dam below 100%. Water levels at the dam are currently at 97.6%.

The DWS will continue to monitor the water levels at both the dams closely.

For more information, contact:
Wisane Mavasa
Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation 
Cell: 060 561 8935
E-mail: mavasaw@dws.gov.za