The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has received notification regarding a privately owned dam, located near Barberton in Mpumalanga under the City of Mbombela Local Municipality, which has been reported to be at risk of failure.
The dam named My Own Dam (publicly referred to as Senteeko Dam), is registered with the Department’s Dam Safety Office as a 26m high medium-sized dam, with a storage capacity of 1.8 million m³, owned by Shamile Communal Property Association (CPA) and is used for irrigation purposes.
DWS has dispatched a team of dam safety engineers, working with the owner’s previously appointed Approved Professional Person (APP) for the dam, to site to conduct a technical assessment of the reported damage at the dam and continue to monitor the dam closely.
The dam is an earthfall embarkment dam with a concrete spillway. Assessments and observations by the Department’s Dam Safety Specialists indicate that undercutting of the spillway channel is continuing, eroding and posing a threat to the stability of the structure. The spillway channel slab is currently slightly suspended or cantilevered.
There is currently no overtopping of the dam wall, and no excessive seepage has been observed on the earthfill embankment wall.
The dam’s outlet valve is fully opened in accordance with the dam operating rules; however, due to increased inflows from the Die Kaap River, which is a tributary to the dam, the lowering of the dam water level has been minimal.
The owner of the dam is expected to start excavations of a side-channel spillway, and this will be done under the supervision of the APP. This side-channel spillway is intended to lower the water level in the dam, thereby reducing undercutting of the spillway channel and preventing catastrophic failure of the dam.
It is anticipated that this exercise will proceed even if additional rainfall is experienced. The areas most likely to be affected have been identified as those in close proximity to the dam, particularly the Barberton Valley. Relevant communications, warnings, and evacuation processes are being implemented by the relevant authorities.
Observations of the upper reaches of the Die Kaap River by the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) indicate that river flows have decreased since 19 January 2026. The Crocodile River, located approximately 60 km from Senteeko Dam, is currently flowing within normal recent peak levels. Any additional flows that may result from an unforeseen dam failure, should the current intervention measures not prevent it, are expected to have minimal impact on transboundary flows to Mozambique which are currently elevated due to the recent flooding conditions.
The Department of Water and Sanitation takes dam safety seriously and urges communities to comply with all evacuation orders issued along the Die Kaap River. The public is also advised to avoid low-water bridges, unnecessary travel, and activities near rivers. Furthermore, the Department urges the public to share verified information responsibly.
