The Department of Water and Sanitation has given the City of Cape Town the go-ahead to commence construction of an emergency spillway on the fourth and remaining dam near Malmesbury, to prevent its collapse, reports Cape {town} Etc.
The dam is reported to be on the verge of collapse amid the recent heavy rain in the province while three other dams in Riverland already collapsed last week, resulting in major floods damaging property and infrastructure.
Also read: Relief and rescue efforts continue in Riverlands after dam wall breaks
On Thursday, 8 August, the wall of the dam located on a property known as Dassenberg breached, leaving 14 residents hospitalised and over 400 people uprooted.
According to the department’s spokesperson Mandla Mathebula, investigations into the reasons behind the dam wall failures are currently underway.
‘The three failed dams did not have sufficient spillways and had filed beyond the safe level, resulting in overtopping due to high rainfall and associated run off, causing them to fail in series.’
‘The fourth dam, which is the highest dam in the valley, also has no spillway, and it has been discovered that it has some structural damage. The dams are owned by the Western Cape provincial government and serve the local farmers,’ said Mathebula.
‘The construction has commenced under the supervision of an approved professional person, who will ensure that this dam is able to handle the anticipated floods due to the predicted rainfall, which will last until Tuesday. The existing outlet pipe of the dam will also be kept fully open to allow the dam levels to drop to safe capacity or even empty if required,’ he added.
On Sunday morning, 11 August, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina visited the Riverlands dam disaster site alongside Western Cape Government MEC Anton Bredell, seeking a full investigation into the cause of the dam collapse.
‘Our engineers will be here starting tomorrow [Monday] to work with other stakeholders. We have to go deeper to investigate,’ News24 reported Majodina as saying.
‘These six dams are not part of the Water and Sanitation department, but we have the responsibility to ensure that they comply with norms and standards.’
Majodina added that the department’s teams have been on site since Thursday and will remain there until the investigation is complete.
Bredell, in turn, reiterated to importance of authorities keeping a close eye on the fourth dam to ensure that it does not collapse.
‘The City of Cape Town has sent an engineer and dam specialist to give advice to local authorities. An outlet [opening] has been made to allow the water level to drop, and it is being monitored every hour,’ he said.
Bredell added that the provincial water and sanitation department will also send engineers to investigate the cause of the dams burst.
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Picture: Swartland Municipality / Facebook
