The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) will, in line with its flood management plan, increase water outflows at the Vaal and Bloemhof dams to 60 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) from 12 pm on the 14th November 2025, which have respectively recorded 102.78% and 98.32% in the morning.
The water outflow at the Vaal Dam will increase from 17 to 60 mᵌ/s, Bloemhof Dam from 20 to 60 mᵌ/s.
The outflows are necessary to manage the river systems for the potential increases in inflows into the catchment, due to continuous summer rainfall that is experienced in most parts of the country. It should be noted that while the outflows are significant, they will not cause the river to overtop the banks.
According to the South African Weather Service (SAWS), there are expected heavy rains in most parts of the country this coming weekend, and as part of its pre-emptive planning, the Department has started to implement dam releases according to its safety protocols.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has been actively monitoring the inflow water levels at both Vaal and Bloemhof Dams to ensure that necessary precautions are in place in line with dam safety standards and hydrological monitoring systems, to safeguard and maintain the integrity of the water resource infrastructures, as well as to reduce flood conditions while keeping the dam at full capacity.
