KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Water and Sanitation has confirmed that Shongweni dam has not collapsed following a viral video that was posted on social media.

Two fuse gates are seen popping out to release water. The design of the gates allows the release of more water once the dam level has reached a certain level and poses no safety risk.

KwaZulu-Natal head of Provincial Water and Sanitation, Ashley Starkey said that there are 10 fuse gates at Shongweni Dam; they are part of the safety mechanism to prevent the dam from overfilling.

“When the dam reaches a certain level the gates will automatically pop out to prevent overfilling. In this case, two of the outer fuse gates popped out, releasing water. This is a normal process of the safety mechanism of Shongweni Dam and poses no safety risk. The two fuse gates that have popped out will be replaced. There is no need to be concerned,” he said.

“Hazelmere Dam had a similar problem where the dam was overfilled because of heavy rainfall, however, Hazelmere has a different design with the sluice gates, and water was released through the sluice gate which was announced by Umgeni Water,” he said.

According to the Mercury reported on Monday, that Umgeni Water would be releasing water at Hazelmere Dam to reduce the capacity which was at 65% as it posed a risk to the wall extension that is currently under construction.