Here’s how the Vaal Dam’s recovery is going after recent dip

2026-03-04 - 11:43

The Vaal Dam has remained above 100% capacity for six straight days, buoyed by strong seasonal inflows. This comes after the dam dipped below 100% last week. It had remained above capacity for almost a year. Vaal Dam surpasses full capacity for nearly a week The Vaal Dam entered March on a high note, with water levels holding above full capacity for six consecutive days by 4 March 2026, according to the latest data from The Reservoir, a Water Resource Information Centre for the Catchment Management Forums of the Upper Vaal Water Management Area. As of 4 March, the dam stood at 100.50%, with inflows recorded at 73.43/s against an outflow of 30.23/s , and no sluice gates opened. The sustained run above full capacity began on 27 February, when the dam first crossed the 100% threshold after registering an inflow of 117.6m3/s. At that point, outflows were recorded at 21.4m3/s with gates remaining closed. According to The Reservoir, that day marked “over 100% – 01 consecutive days.” ALSO READ: More than half of South Africans experience water outages Dip below 100%, falling just nine days short of a full year The current above-capacity streak followed a single day below the 100% mark. On 26 February, the dam dipped to 99.87%, ending what had been a remarkable 355-day run above full capacity. The Reservoir noted at the time that the dam had fallen nine days short of making it a full year. Despite that brief retreat, inflows that day remained robust at 98.3m3/s, with outflows at 21.4m3/s and gates remaining closed. The Vaal Barrage recorded an outflow of 30.0m3/s and a water temperature of 21.9°C on the same day. The contrast with the previous year is stark. The Reservoir noted that “last year around the same period, the dam stood at 93.1%”, more than seven percentage points below where levels sit on Wednesday. Daily inflows remain strong as dam levels inch higher through early March Throughout the first four days of March, inflows consistently outpaced outflows, contributing to a gradual rise in the dam’s storage level. On 1 March, the dam recorded a level of 100.12%, with inflows of 80.6m3/s against outflows of 17.6m3/s. The Reservoir recorded that the dam was “over 100% for three consecutive days” at that stage, with the Vaal Barrage outflow sitting at a notably low 10.1m3/s. By 2 March, the dam remained at 100.25%, buoyed by the highest inflow of the recent stretch at 90.5m3/s, though outflows held steady at 17.6m3/s and gates remained shut. Levels held at 100.38% on 3 March, with inflows easing slightly to 74.7m3/s while outflows remained unchanged at 17.6m3/s. The Vaal Barrage level ticked up marginally to 7.5m, with a water temperature of 21.9°C. Vaal Barrage levels Conditions at the Vaal Barrage remained largely stable across the reporting period. The barrage held at a level of 7.5 metres for much of the stretch, only edging up to 7.6 metres on 4 March, the same day the dam reached its latest high of 100.50%. Outflows at the barrage rose to 44.9m3/s on 4 March, up from 22.6m3/s the previous day. The Reservoir recorded a water temperature at the barrage of “22.0°C” on that date. Water temperatures at the barrage fluctuated marginally throughout the period, ranging between 21.9°C and 22.8°C. The warmest reading of 22.8°C was logged on 28 February, when the barrage was flowing at 15.1m3/s. The Reservoir noted a temperature of “22.5°C” on both 27 February and 1 March. Outflows at the barrage showed more variability, ranging from a low of 10.1m3/s on 1 March to a high of 44.9m3/s on 4 March. READ NEXT: These are some of the areas that consume the most water in Joburg