The Vaal Dam level has seen a huge increase following the recent heavy rains across Gauteng.

According to Johannesburg Water, the Vaal Dam is now 81.64% full, a huge increase of 10.02% in the past 24 hours and a two-year high.

Gauteng has experienced steady rainfall this week, with wet weather expected to continue until Sunday. According to Gauteng weather, these “torrential rains” have brought “massive relief” to the Vaal Dam.

On Tuesday Gauteng Weather tweeted that the Vaal Dam had received the volume of almost one Olympic-sized swimming pool every second over the previous 24 hours.

Gauteng has been on level two water restrictions for several months now. It is currently unclear whether this encouraging rise in the Vaal Dam will ease water restrictions. The Department of Water and Sanitation previously cautioned that it could take up to three years to recover from the drought and that although the dam levels across the country have generally risen, South Africa is about to enter the dry winter period.