Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has opened two sluice gates at the Vaal Dam and issued a flood warning in preparation.
With the dam nearing the 100% full mark, the water department will be deciding how much water needs to be released in coming days.
The Vaal Dam’s operators opened the sluice gates for the first time in years on Sunday after torrential summer rains pushed capacity at the dam close to the 100% mark.
The dam was at around 95% on Saturday, a record high for the last six years.
Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane was addressing the media at the event, where she said that she hoped South Africans would continue to heed the lesson of responsible water use.
At the moment it still seems like a case of two extremes, currently there are floods but the province’s water department says the drought conditions are still continuing throughout.
Dam levels across the country have fallen dramatically over the past year as a result of the drought.
Mokonyane told gatherers: “I trust the lessons learnt on responsible water use will become a norm and a way of life for us all.”
She also thanked Gauteng residents for adhering to water restrictions, stating: “Gauteng water restrictions are lifted immediately.”
“This in line with our assessments that a full recovery from the drought will be seen in two to three years’ time.”
Depending on how much water continues to flow into the dam would determine if and how much water gets released in the days ahead.
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