Vaal Dam level edges up again: Here’s what its current level stands at

The Vaal Dam level rose slightly this week and remains higher than a year ago. The Vaal Dam stood at 108.2% of capacity at the start of the week, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s weekly report on the provincial state of dams. This was a slight rise from 108.1% the week before. It was also higher than the 102.8% recorded around the same time last year. According to data received yesterday, the dam’s inflow was 57 cumecs, while its outflow was 17 cumecs. Vaal Dam has stayed full for more than a year The dam has kept its high level for well over a year. It has not dropped below 90% at any point this year. The dam has held 100% capacity for 355 consecutive days. That streak ended in late February, when the level slipped to 99.87% on 26 February. The dam has dipped to 99% a few times since, but has not fallen lower. Experts say there is no overflow danger Concerns about overflow risks have often been raised during the period of high levels. Officials previously stated that these worries were largely unfounded because of how the dam was built. Midvaal councillor Pieter Swart has previously explained how the dam handles water once it is full. “The Vaal Dam doesn’t ‘overflow’ in the way some other dams will do. It makes use of sluice gates to release water in a controlled manner, once the dam reaches 100%,” Swart said. Water expert Carin Bosman agreed that the term “overflow risk” was technically misplaced. “The dam is designed to overflow so there is no risk associated with the overflow,” Bosman said. She stressed that the design was the key point. “The risk of overflow is not a risk,” Bosman stated. According to Bosman, the dam was made to handle such events.