The department of water and sanitation on Friday issued an urgent public alert, warning that the Senteeko Dam in Mpumalanga is atimminent risk of failure. It urged all residents downstream of the dam, also known as My Own Dam, located in the Die Kaap river catchment, to immediately evacuate. My Own Dam, publicly referred to asSenteeko Dam, is registered with the department’s dam safety office as a 26m-high medium size dam, with a storage capacity of 1.8 million cubic metres.
It is owned by the Shamile communal property association and is mainly used for irrigation. The department’s spokesperson, Wisane Mavasa, said an emergency safety assessment by its dam safety office confirmed that thedam’s spillway structure has suffered severe and irreversible deterioration, including advanced erosion and undercutting leading to structural instability “Failure of the dam is imminent and may occur without further warning,” she said. An uncontrolled release of water poses an immediate and serious threat to downstream communities, infrastructure and the environment, it said.
All people residing or operating downstream of the dam must evacuate flood-prone areas immediately; follow directives issued by disaster management authorities and emergency services; and not access the dam site under any circumstances. Mavasa said that emergency interventions that are in place are “temporary risk‑reduction measures only and do not prevent full or partial failure of the dam structure”. The department is coordinating response actions with relevant authorities and will issue further updates as required.
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“The protection of life remains the department’s highest priority. Furthermore, the department urges the public to share verified information responsibly,” she added.
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