Vaal Dam storage eases slightly through the week as inflows fluctuate
Around the same period last year, the Vaal Dam stood at a higher level, recording 107.1%.
The storage level at Vaal Dam decreased slightly over the week of 24 to 30 August 2026, fluctuating between 100.75% and 101.00% according to the weekly hydrological report compiled for Rand Water and the Department of Water and Sanitation. Initially, on Monday, the dam’s storage stood at 101.00%, the same level on Tuesday. However, it dropped to 100.88% on Wednesday before remaining constant on Thursday and further reducing to 100.75% on Friday.
The report mentioned that not all abstraction and evaporation losses from Vaal Dam are included in these figures, which could explain the gradual decline. The dam's storage level was higher compared to the same period last year, which recorded 107.1%.
Throughout the week, inflow into the dam varied. It began at 44.1m³/s on Monday, dropped to its lowest point of 39.3m³/s on Tuesday, then rose to 45.3m³/s on Wednesday, the highest weekly inflow point. Subsequently, the inflow decreased to 43.5m³/s on Thursday and 41.5m³/s on Friday.
Despite the fluctuating inflow, the dam discharge remained consistent at 16.8m³/s throughout the week, and no sluice gates were opened at any point. The water level at the Vaal Barrage started at 7.6m on Monday and Tuesday, then fell to 7.5m from Wednesday to Friday. The barrage discharge mirrored this pattern, easing from 22.7m³/s on Monday and Tuesday to 22.6m³/s for the rest of the week.
Water temperature at the barrage started at 12.6°C on Monday, slightly decreased to 12.2°C on Tuesday, then rose again to 12.6°C on Wednesday. It further rose to 14.5°C on Thursday, the week’s highest temperature before easing back to 14.1°C on Friday. Temperature data for the weekend was not recorded at the time of publication.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
