Two Vaal Dam sluice gates opened

The Department and Water and Sanitation on Monday opened two sluice gates at the Vaal Dam due to increased inflows from feeding catchments.

In a statement, the department said three gates from the five that had been opened previously had been closed.

It said this was due to the continued rain in the catchments feeding the Vaal-Orange River System and the Integrated Vaal River System. There has been an increased in inflows.

One gate was opened at 10am with the second one opening at midday.

To manage and protect infrastructure, the department said it took the decision to keep a total of four gates open for now.

The dam – which supplies most of Gauteng – stood at 108.5% on Monday morning.

The Bloemhof Dam was at 109.0% full and the dam level increased over the past 24 hours.

Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau warned downstream communities of the imminent increase of outflow from the dams and a rise in the Vaal River.

“Farmers are asked to remove equipment that may be damaged due to the outflow. This is also a warning for communities to ensure that children are not swimming near the stream.

“The department will continue to monitor the volumes, but the sluice gates will remain open until further notice,” Ratau said.