Pretoria -
“it’s absolutely beautiful,” gushed Lodine Kruger as she watched the 994 cumecs - which can fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in 2.5 seconds - of water rush through seven sluice gates of the Vaal Dam.
Kruger was part of the handful of locals who had stopped to take in the view of the thunderous water rushing from the dam wall into the river.
While the water levels were of no particular concern for Kruger and other residents of Deneysville, a town bordering the dam, Emfuleni municipality spokesman Klaas Mofomme said they were monitoring the dam’s levels and urging residents to be cautious.
“We have no plans to evacuate people just yet,” he said.
Mofomme said that while there was no immediate threat of flooding for the low-lying areas surrounding the river, people still needed to be careful on the roads.
“All emergency personnel are on alert for any eventuality,” he stated.
On Tuesday afternoon, the acting director-general of the Department of Water Affairs, Trevor Balzer, said they were monitoring the Vaal Dam.
“It can go much higher than 994 (cumecs). We’ve had 1 600 before. At this stage the system is stable,” Balzer said.
However, he said once the flow went above 1 000 cumecs, more areas along the Vaal River would experience flooding.
Gauteng residents should brace themselves for more rain until at least Friday, said Elizabeth Webster, a forecaster at the SA Weather Service.
The Star