The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has issued a directive to the owners of the four collapsed Riverlands dams to have them safely decommissioned.
Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina disclosed this in her 100 days in office report. Meanwhile, residents affected by the dam collapse are still without homes.
Earlier this year, three farm dams located in Riverlands near Malmesbury breached, resulting in flooding that caused severe property and infrastructure damage to the affected area. This breach led to hundreds of people being provided with humanitarian assistance after they were left destitute.
DWS visited the site of the dam failures, met with the community, and oversaw an investigation into the failures.
During these visits and engagements, a fourth dam on the upper stream was discovered and was also found to have insufficient spillway.
The oldest dam on the farm had been built between 1960 and 1966. In August, the preliminary investigation report identified the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) as the dams’ current owner.
Majodina, in her report, said the department’s responsibilities included the regulation of the safety of dams.
“The preliminary investigation report found that the original owner of the farm who built the dams failed to obtain the legally required approval from the department for the design of the dams, and that subsequent owners failed to register the dams with the department as required by the National Water Act. As a result, the dams were not regularly inspected and signs of imminent failure were not identified timeously.
“Further investigations are underway to determine liability for the damages caused by the dam failures,” said Majodina.
Riverlands disaster steering committee member Ralph Burger said a number of residents are yet to receive materials to rebuild their homes.
“We are still waiting for the final report to come out,” said Burger.
Majodina previously said DALRRD failed to conduct due diligence to ascertain whether the dams were compliant with the National Water Act and registered with the relevant authority.
The Dam Safety Regulation specialist unit ascertained that DALRRD was non-compliant as the dams which burst were operating without the necessary permits and licences.
Enquiries to the DALRRD were not answered by publication.
Previously, DALRRD spokesperson Moses Rannditsheni confirmed that the dams are situated on a property purchased as part of the land redistribution programme in 2019, which was subsequently leased to a livestock farmer.
DALRRD was however “required to do a due diligence and ensure that the dams comply with all the relevant legislation” Majodina had said.
Cape Times