Disaster management and dam safety have become critical pillars of national and regional water security, said Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo when delivering the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS’s) Budget and Policy Statement in May.

Strengthening dam safety oversight, rehabilitation programmes, maintenance and risk management systems are essential to protecting lives, infrastructure and economic activity.

While dams play a central role in water storage, flood management and supply regulation, they pose growing risks associated with ageing infrastructure and climate variability.

He assured that the latest yearly condition assessment shows that 83% of the department’s assets are in a “very good”, “good”, or “fair” condition, and that 79% of the scheduled preventative maintenance projects were completed during the previous financial year.

“Our departmental large dams are safe from structural failures and we will continue to enforce compliance to the dam safety regulations on privately owned dams,” he said, noting that the DWS is implementing a comprehensive dam safety rehabilitation programme to maintain the safety of its dams and improve their capacity to handle extreme flood events associated with climate change.

This followed a series of near failures in recent years, including one at the privately owned Senteko dam near Barberton in January.

The dam, registered with the DWS as My Own Dam, is owned by the Communal Property Association (CPA).

Following an alert about the potential failure, the DWS dispatched a team from its dam safety office and worked closely with the municipality to mitigate the risk of failure by lowering the water level.

Once the imminent disaster was averted, the DWS issued a directive to the CPA for further interventions, as the risk of failure was not fully averted.

“The department was on the verge of deploying its internal construction to partially breach the dam, but has since halted that intervention after the Mpumalanga provincial government made funds available to assist the CPA in implementing further measures to mitigate the risk of failure, which the department is continuously monitoring.”

Another near-failure was reported in December 2025 at the Thabos dam near Bronkhorspruit.

“The failure was averted through the actions taken by the department, working closely with the City of Tshwane emergency services,” Mahlobo added.

He said that despite recent floods in the Eastern and Western Cape, the department’s 127 dams in the two provinces are deemed to be structurally safe and able to withstand extreme floods.

“Some of those dams had their spillways upgraded through the Dam Safety Rehabilitation Programme undertaken by the department,” he explained.

In the previous financial year, the rehabilitation of Rietspruit and Marico Bosveld dams in the North West province were completed, while in the current financial year the department plans to rehabilitate Bloemhof, Casteel, Mthatha and Kwaggaskloof dams.

Experienced DWS dam engineers also perform regular dam safety inspections, supported by approved professional persons.

The departmental dams have consistently performed well under extreme weather conditions in recent times.

“Recently, Kouga dam was suddenly filled to a storage capacity exceeding 120% . . . in less than a week. The dam spilled as expected, releasing nearly 2.5-million litres every second,” he said.

The DWS has also finalised the dam safety compliance audits of the different sectors that own dams.

“The findings will now be brought to the attention of the various government departments who are responsible as owners of these dams, to avoid a repeat of incidents such as that which occurred at Riverlands in 2024.”

Further, the recommendations emanating from the Cabinet briefing for the establishment of a technical task team following the release of the Jagersfontein Investigation report will start in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year.

Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo said that the department continues to make progress in mitigating alien species on the Hartbeespoort dam.

“The department is pleased to report satisfactory progress in the control of aquatic alien invasive plant species at Hartbeespoort dam, caused by upstream pollution emanating from dysfunctional and critical wastewater treatment works from the three Gauteng metropolitans and Mogale City local municipality.”

The interventions, implemented through Magalies Water in partnership with the Centre for Biological Control of Rhodes University,

include the physical removal of the alien invasive plant species; the release of biological control agents, which are insects that weaken invasive species; and the deployment of a nano-bubble-technology – oxygen gas bubbles that bind with ammonia and other elements to improve water quality.

“While the project has yielded many benefits, the unsatisfactory quality of effluent has not yet significantly improved despite enforcement action, including criminal charges,” said Seitlholo.

The DWS continues to strengthen its regulatory function, which has resulted in an increased number of civil actions and criminal charges against municipalities for sewerage pollution as well as actions against industrial polluters.

The DWS has 96 active criminal cases for sewerage pollution involving 53 water service authorities, across all nine provinces, following the non-responsiveness of the municipalities to notices and directives.

In 53 of these cases, an investigation is currently under way, with a further 42 referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision to prosecute. In one case, the NPA has decided to include charges against the municipal manager in his personal capacity.

A further 67 possible criminal cases are being investigated involving mining operations, agricultural operations, industry and dams, including the failed tailings facility of Jagersfontein currently in court. (See also page 14.)