As recent heavy rains push key reservoirs like the Vaal Dam to 105% capacity and the Bloemhof Dam to 99%, agricultural stakeholders are issuing a stark warning to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS): controlled water releases from overflowing dams must prioritize precision and farmer input to avert the catastrophic losses inflicted on rural communities earlier this year.
With the summer planting season underway in the Free State and North West provinces—where soil moisture levels are already optimal for maize and other crops—experts fear a repeat of the March-April 2025 deluges that submerged fields, destroyed infrastructure, and wiped out millions in harvests due to what critics call "hasty and poorly communicated" outflows.
The alarm bells are ringing loudest along the Vaal River system, where recent downpours—measuring up to 80mm in Orkney and 70mm in Newcastle—have swelled dams beyond safe thresholds.
DWS officials announced on November 14 that outflows at both the Vaal and Bloemhof would ramp up incrementally to manage rising levels, but emphasized these would not trigger bank overflows.
Yet, memories of early 2025 remain raw: In March, as rains battered the central interior, the Vaal Dam's levels surged to 120%, prompting the opening of up to ten sluice gates and releases peaking at 3,000 cubic meters per second (m³/s). Downstream, the Bloemhof Dam followed suit, hitting 116.5% and discharging at similar rates, transforming farmlands into temporary lakes and eroding vital topsoil.
This year's early mishaps weren't isolated. Similar mismanagement plagued the Pongolapoort Dam in April, where unchecked inflows led to uncontrolled spillage, flooding KwaZulu-Natal farmlands and prompting a national disaster declaration. By June, the Mthatha Dam's overflow—exacerbated by a sudden 102% surge—claimed 13 schoolchildren's lives in a scholar transport tragedy and devastated Eastern Cape agriculture, underscoring a pattern of reactive rather than proactive strategies.
– Heavy weekend rains across South Africa's interior have rapidly elevated water levels in major reservoirs, prompting the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to announce incremental increases in outflows from the Vaal and Bloemhof dams to prevent overflows, while agricultural groups urge meticulous management to safeguard downstream farmlands from the kind of devastation seen in early 2025 floods.
Wilco Fourie, chairperson of the Orange River Agricultural Union and a farmer from Groblershoop, expressed growing uncertainty on Sunday morning (16 November 2025) in a WhatsApp group for farmers along the Orange River regarding water releases from the Vaal and Bloemhof dams, amid very high dam levels and continued heavy rain in the catchment areas. He said a request had already been submitted to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to release at least as much water as is flowing into both dams, but no response has been received yet.According to his message, the Vaal Dam had an inflow of 226 m³/s yesterday and stands at 102.8%, while the Bloemhof Dam is receiving 62 m³/s and is at 98.4%. Graphs indicate that outflows from both dams were supposed to increase to 60 m³/s yesterday, but they remain well below the inflow volumes.
Although Bloemhof’s outflow has now been increased, the Vaal Dam’s has not, and there is still no noticeable rise in flow in the Upper Orange River.Fourie warns that historical data from Gariep Watch shows diarrhoea outbreaks in communities along the Orange River often increase with the initial inflow from the Vaal River, and he advises people to boil water before drinking it.The situation follows earlier DWS announcements: on Friday, outflows were set to rise to 60 m³/s (Vaal from 17 m³/s, Bloemhof from 20 m³/s) at levels of 102.78% and 98.32% respectively, as part of flood management for expected rainfall, with no risk of riverbank overflows. On Saturday, a new notice stated that Bloemhof Dam’s outflow would increase further today (Sunday) at 10:00 from 60 m³/s to 120 m³/s.The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of a cut-off low-pressure system moving across the country from Saturday to Monday, bringing widespread rain, severe thunderstorms, strong winds, hail, significant temperature drops, and flood risks to infrastructure, residential areas and driving conditions — especially on Sunday and Monday over Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu-Natal.The Vaal and Orange River system has experienced floods since 1874, with major events in 1894 and 1925. Over the past 20–30 years, flooding has occurred almost every second or third year, worsened by La Niña seasons and changing rainfall patterns.
This time Farmers must not allow the DWS to do as thy like- they must take responsibility for their actions and the Minister is the responsible one.
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