 | Dam wall failure successfully mitigated in Newton, Wellington
25 July 2024 | Press Releases |
25 July 2024
After closely monitoring the 300-metre-wide Uitkyk farm dam above Newton, Wellington, over the last 10 days, Drakenstein Municipality's Engineering Services department - in consultation with the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and a dam engineering specialist - has confirmed that the risk of dam wall failure has been successfully mitigated.
A syphon pipe, typically used to transfer water from one side of a dam to the other, has also been installed on the wall of the 150 000-cubic-metre farm dam in the Bo-Dal area to assist with lowering the dam's water level.
The dam engineering specialist further recommended other mitigation measures to assist with the dam's safety. Drakenstein Municipality is liaising with DWS to ensure that these measures are implemented in the nearby future.
This is good news for Newton residents who had to voluntarily evacuate their homes during the night of 9 July 2024 as a precautionary measure, following heavy downpours. They have since been given the green light to return to their homes.
Drakenstein Municipality, together with the City of Cape Town and DWS, is also monitoring other dams in the area, including the Wemmershoek and Berg River Dams, as well as farm dams.
On Tuesday (23 July 2023), Councillor Stephen Korabie, Executive Mayor of Drakenstein Municipality, Dr Johan Leibbrandt, City Manager, and Louis Pienaar, Executive Director: Engineering Services at the Municipality, briefed Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, on the mitigation measures that were undertaken, the status of the dams, and planning for future weather warnings.
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Issued by: Communication and Marketing, Drakenstein Municipality
