The Vaal Dam sluice gates were opened at the weekend after levels reached higher than they have been in two years.
Yesterday, hundreds of people gathered along the main bridge in Deneysville to watch the dam gates open up.
For the past two years, drought has devastated large parts of the country and the southern African region as a whole.
Now, 57 of the 211 dams that were being monitored have reached levels above 100%.
The increase in the water levels went from a low 54.8% in April last year and a further decrease to 49.1% in December to averaging 60.5% by February 20 this year.
The increase was further felt with a rise to 67.1% by Friday.
Last year this time, the dam levels were at 54%.
Yesterday, Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane held a media briefing at the department’s offices in Deneysville to update the country on the water levels of dams.
She said the increase in most of the dam levels was due to the significant rains last week that allowed for about 386 million cubic metres a day to flow into the river systems.
“Most of the provinces have shown ongoing increases, with the exception being the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and western parts of the Northern Cape.”
Mokonyane noted that groundwater levels would take a few years to recover.
“The exploration of ground- water in the Western Cape is quite minimal as we are trying to help with the refurbishment of some of the boreholes and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plant,” she said.
Mokonyane said there was an opportunity to bring in the agricultural sector to deal with issues from irrigation to smart water usage.
For the Vaal Dam, it was estimated that the sluice gates would have to be opened yesterday after the dam’s level reached 95% by Friday.
Grootdraai in Mpumalanga had reached 103% and Bloemhof was at 81.7%.
Trevor Balzer, a deputy director-general in the department who deals with special and emergency projects, said the Vaal Dam wall had 60 gates altogether. The minister yesterday opened two gates.
“Those gates under the current level of the dam release 115 cubic metres per second. If the dam is in a flooding condition where it rises above 100%, that can go up to 220 cubic metres per second. In an abnormal, high flood condition, you can have most of the gates open to pass the flood through.”
Balzer said that if all 60 gates were opened, releasing 220 cubic metres, the water would flood outside of the banks and above the low-level bridge at the Vaal Dam.
He said it took half an hour for the gates to open fully as the water rushed out of the sluices.
Mokonyane said the Integrated Vaal River Systems were critical for the economic hub of the country. The current status of the systems would lead to a consideration of lifting the water restrictions announced in November, she said.
“We are looking at a cost-effective tariff structure so that they don’t overburden the end-user with the high cost of disseminated water. We are looking at the different areas the disseminated water can be provided for,” she said.
Mokonyane said the system review planned for May would still happen, to consider the outcomes for the 2017/18 hydrological year and to see whether any more restrictions would be implemented.
On Friday, the Bloemhof Dam was also opened, with 250 cubic metres of water per second being released.
Mokonyane said flood warnings had been given especially to those living below the flood lines near the Orange and Vaal rivers.
“In general, the country’s drought outlook is looking up. Most dams and systems are showing recovery at different levels,” she said.
Mokonyane also said it was important to harvest rainwater as a means to create additional water storage for domestic and industrial purposes.
She stressed it was still necessary to adhere to the restrictions imposed and use water responsibly.
“I trust the lessons learnt on responsible water use will become a norm and a way of life for us all as we adapt to the realities of being a water scarce country,” the minister said.