Planning a trip to the Vaal Dam? Here’s what level it is sitting at

The Vaal Dam wall is seen with during a period of heavy rains on 3 January 2021. Picture: Michel Bega The Vaal Dam remained more than 100% full for this week. This comes even as inflows into the dam declined steadily through the period, according to data from The Reservoir, a Water Resource Information Centre for the Catchment Management Forums of the Upper Vaal Water Management Area.

Storage levels dropped slightly from 102.53% on Monday to 102.02% by Friday, the weekly hydrological report showed. On Monday, 20 July, inflow into the dam measured 49.3 m3/s, storage stood at 102.53% full, discharge was recorded at 16.9 m3/s, and no sluice gates were open, the report showed. On Tuesday, 21 July, inflow eased slightly to 47.8 m3/s, storage dropped to 102.40%, discharge held at 16.9 m3/s, and sluice gates remained closed.

On Thursday, 23 July, inflow dipped to 47.9 m3/s, storage stood at 102.14%, discharge remained steady at 16.9 m3/s, and sluice gates were still closed. Inflow fell to its lowest point of the week on Friday, 24 July, at 44.1 m3/s, storage dropped to 102.02%, discharge again held at 16.9 m3/s, and no sluice gates were opened, the data indicated. Across the full week, inflow ranged between a high of 49.3 m3/s and a low of 44.1 m3/s, averaging 47.5 m3/s.

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Storage ranged from a high of 102.53% to a low of 102.02%, averaging 102.27% for the week, while discharge held steady throughout at 16.9 m3/s. At the Vaal Barrage, water levels held steady at 7.5 metres throughout the week, but discharge rates swung considerably, the data showed. Discharge started at 5.0 m3/s on Monday, climbed to a weekly high of 22.6 m3/s by Wednesday, held near that level on Thursday at 22.5 m3/s, then dropped to 15.1 m3/s on Friday.

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