Johannesburg – Sluice gates at the Vaal and Bloemhof dams are to remain open as the outflow of water remains high, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) said on Thursday.
This comes after the department opened two gates due to increased inflows from feeding catchments on Monday, 17 January 2022.
The department reported that the Vaal Dam – which supplies most of Gauteng – stood at 108.5% and the Bloemhof Dam was at 109.0%.
The Vaal dam storage capacity now stands at 111.1%, indicating an increase of 0.6% from Wednesday, while Bloemhof stands at 111,0%, with a decrease of 1% overnight.
“The decrease in river flow levels upstream of the dams and predictions of a low likelihood of heavy rains next week have at this stage nullified the need to increase the outflow from Bloemhof Dam.
“The outflows from both catchments feeding the Vaal-Orange River System and the Integrated Vaal River System have been kept the same,” the department clarified.
However, the DWS’s spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau warns the public that the outflows from Bloemhof, although unchanged, are still relatively high.
“We ask the downstream communities to remain vigilant.
“Communities living near the Lower Orange should also keep a watchful eye as flows are forecast to increase significantly starting over the weekend,” Ratau explained.
Also read: Two Vaal Dam sluice gates opened
Vaal Dam decreases to manageable levels
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