A fifth sluice gate was opened on Sunday on the Vaal Dam to handle water ranges, which have elevated in a single day on account of the continued rainfall within the Vaal River catchment.
That is in about 24 hours after the Division of Water and Sanitation (DWS) had opened the fourth sluice gate on the Vaal Dam.
Water storage ranges on the dam stood at 107.82% on Saturday however as of this morning, the degrees have risen to 109.39%.
Attainable overflowing on the riverbanks downstream
The outflows on the dam will transfer from 550 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) to simply below 700 mᵌ/s. The inflows into the dam are at present 1 000 m3/s.
Bloemhof Dam storage ranges have additionally risen from yesterday’s 103.23% to 106.91% this morning, and water releases can be staggered incrementally from the present 1 000 mᵌ/s to 1 100 m³/s at 10am; 1 200 m³/s at 12h00; 1 300 m³/s at 14h00, and the final improve at 16h00 to 1 400 m3/s.
The elevated outflows from Vaal Dam are anticipated to achieve the barrage in about six hours and Bloemhof Dam in three to 4 days, and can lead to water ranges rising in each the dam and the river, overtopping of the riverbanks.
Attributable to elevated water releases by the 5 sluice gates, there may be a potential overflowing on the riverbanks downstream and this may have an effect on infrastructure inbuilt decrease mendacity areas.
At Grootdraai Dam situated in Mpumalanga within the Higher Vaal River Catchment, upstream of Vaal Dam, one sluice gate stays opened at 2.5 metres to allow the water releases. The dam is at present sitting at 102.41%.
The division is implementing these obligatory managed water releases on the dams as a part of dam security precautions to safeguard infrastructure and guarantee that there’s full storage capability after the rainfall season.
The division, by way of varied platforms, constantly shares hydrology studies and updates frequently with suggestions with a purpose to ship early warning programs and activate evacuation plans in case of flooding.
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