Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has called on dam owners across the country to adhere to Dam Safety Legislations amid extreme weather patterns. 

Sisulu said failure to adhere to legislation may prompt the Department to take legal action against transgressors.

She issued a stern warning to water boards, municipalities, the agricultural and mine industries to ensure they conduct dam safety evaluations and also ensure that the recommendations made by engineers based on the findings of the dam safety evaluation reports are implemented.

“We are faced with water security challenges as a country and key to this is deteriorating infrastructure. I therefore urge dam owners to do their bit to safeguard water infrastructures by conducting these required evaluations, which will not only protect the society from potential dam failures but will also ensure guaranteed storage, especially in the current climatic conditions facing our country,” she said.

For the 2018/19 period, at least 313 Dam Safety Evaluation reports were expected to be submitted to the Dam Safety Office of the Department but only 207, which is 66% were submitted

This is a decline as compared to the 81% achievement in the previous years.

“Each dam must have a safety inspection conducted every five (5) years. In this case, dam owners are required to arrange for the execution of a formal dam safety inspection by an Approved Professional Person (APP),” said Minister Sisulu. 

Minister Sisulu emphasized that the Department remains committed to safeguard water resources in the country.

As such, dam owners are encouraged to play their role by abiding to dam safety legislations as set out in the National Water Act.

The Department owns twenty (20) of the country’s largest dams in terms of storage capacity, and is mandated to register and classify all dams across the country.

It also ensures that all dams with a safety risk are designed, built and altered, to comply with appropriate engineering standards.

“The first step is to apply for classification of the dam. The Department will then inform the applicant of the classification of the dam and of further procedures. If the dam is classified as a category I dam, meaning a dam with a safety risk, a dam owner would be required to apply for a license for construction,” said Minister Sisulu. 

She added that if the dam is classified as a category II or III dam, the services of an Approved Professional Person must be obtained.

The Approved Professional Person must apply for a licence to construct on behalf of the dam owner. This involves the submission of an application form, design report, engineering drawings and construction specifications.

Minister Sisulu concluded that with below average rainfall expected in mid-December, it is vital for water infrastructures to be up to standard to ensure water security and help alleviate drought that has firmly gripped some parts of the country.