Water outflows at Bloemhof Dam have been reduced, says the Department of Water and Sanitation, while the five sluice gates at the Vaal Dam remain open to manage the inflows of water into the dam.
The dapertment said the outflows at Bloemhof Dam were decreased as the dam’s water levels subsided to 104.96%.
The water releases at the Bloemhof dam were reduced from 2 100 to 1900 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) at 12pm on Sunday.
The water outflows decrease follows Saturday’s reduction from 2500 mᵌ/s.
“These adjustments are necessary to manage the sustained high inflows and ensure safe operation of the dam.”
Meanwhile, at the Vaal Dam, the water levels have slightly dropped from Saturday’s 115.43% to 114.38% on Sunday, and the inflows from the upper catchment are at 877.38 mᵌ/s.
“The five sluice gates remain open, with a discharge of 813.380 mᵌ/s to manage the water levels at the dam. The controlled water releases at both the dams have led to overtopping of riverbanks downstream, resulting in flooding that has affected settlements that are in the lower-lying areas within the 1 in 100-year floodline,” the department said in a statement on Sunday.
The department urged people living within the floodline of the Vaal River downstream of the Vaal and Bloemhof Dams, who have been evacuated, to continue to avoid the flooded areas.
The department said it continues to monitor inflow water levels in the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), to ensure that necessary precautions are in place, in line with dam safety standards and hydrological monitoring systems to safeguard infrastructure and attenuate flood conditions.
“As part of the dam safety protocols, sluice gates are opened when dams breach the full capacity mark, to prevent the water resource infrastructure from failing as it may lead to a dam bursting and causing a disaster of unimaginable magnitude.
“The department is therefore implementing these necessary controlled water releases at the dams as part of dam safety precautions to safeguard the infrastructure and protect human life,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
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Meep
An retired elderly couple visit London..
They get picked up from the airport in a london black cab and head off into the city for some adventure.
The cab driver say \”where you from guvnor?
Husband. \”we\’re from South Africa\”..
The wife is a little hard of hearing asks her husband.
\”What did he say?\”
The husband turns to his wife and says louder \”the cab driver asked us where we were from, I told him South Africa!\”
The cabbie continues \”I was in the merchant navy years back… I got to drop anchor down your way, a few times in Johannesburg\”
The husband replies \”oh wow that\’s where we\’re from originally, now we\’re in Cape Town.\”
The wife asks the husband again \”what did he say?\”.
The husband again relays the unheard conversation \”the cab driver says he spent some time in the navy and went down to joberg\”.
The wife smiles and nods.
Bourbon Mirage
Fun South African Fact: The Lion, the cheetah and the wildebeest are three of the five fastest animals in the world and they all live in South Africa.