Two more Vaal Dam sluice gates opened
The Department and Water and Sanitation has
announced that it has opened two more sluice gates at the Vaal Dam on Monday.
Spokesperson Sputnik Ratau says three gates have now been closed.
“Three gates from the five that had been opened previously had been closed, however, 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 opened at 10am on Monday morning and the second one opened at midday.
“To manage and protect infrastructure the department took a decision to keep a total of four gates open for now,” says Ratau.
The dam – which supplies most of Gauteng - stood at 108,5% on Monday with the Bloemhof Dam at 109.0 % full while increasing over the past 24 hours.
Ratau warns downstream communities about 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.”
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