A property owner next to the Vaal River has voiced his concern after an incident when the power cables to the Deneysville Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) were recently stolen, which made it impossible to operate the Vaal Dam’s valves.

“Closure of four valves was supposed to take place on Monday, May 9, and so the Rand Water staff at the Barrage started closing to accommodate the lesser flow. DWS then found out about the cable theft, but flow had already been restricted at the Barrage. Hence the higher levels,” the property owner says in a letter.

He says that the incident is extremely concerning.

“Imagine if the eight gates were still open and due to cable theft, they could not be closed.”

He says that other than all the water that will be lost, damage down-stream of the dam will be immense.

The opposite scenario is just as bad he says.

“[Imagine] the dam level stands at 116% and [is] rising, and the dam’s gates cannot be opened. It could end up in a disaster of titanic proportions!”

The property owner says that a national key point such as the Vaal Dam Wall must have a self-generating power plant system as back-up.

“It will be mind boggling if they do not have one, which I think is impossible (but possible that it is not working due to lack of maintenance).”

The property owner says that something is not right. He suggested that an investigation should be launched and the DWS requested to answer some questions.