The Vaal Dam will close the year considerably fuller than the crisis-level it was at last year.
The Vaal Dam remained above full capacity on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, with the dam now around 80 percent points fuller than it was last year.
According to the latest data, the Vaal Dam was recorded at 104.20%, with an inflow of 327.6 cubic metres per second and an outflow of 247.2 cubic metres per second. Two dam gates remained open to manage the excess water.
At the Vaal Barrage, water levels measured 7.5 metres, with an outflow of 342.1 cubic metres per second. The water temperature was recorded at 24.2°C.
Authorities continue to monitor the system closely as elevated dam levels increase the risk of strong currents and hazardous conditions along rivers and spillways downstream.
Vaal Dam levels: A decade of contrasts
A comparison of dam levels on 29 December over the past decade illustrates the sharp contrast between 2025 and several critically dry years.
On 29 December 2025, the dam stood at 103.55%, slightly lower than the previous day, with one gate open.
This follows another high-water year in 2022, when the dam measured 102.90% with two gates open, and 2021, which peaked at 108.10%, also with two gates open.
In stark contrast, the dam was at just 24.25% in 2024, reflecting one of the lowest December levels in recent history. Similarly low levels were recorded in 2016 (43.51%), 2019 (50.22%) and 2020 (51.10%).
Moderate levels were observed in 2023 (66.10%), 2018 (73.75%), which marked the lowest point for that year, and 2017 (80.43%). Higher but stable levels were recorded in 2014 (82.84%) and 2015 (54.33%).
ALSO READ: Big change at the Vaal Dam
Dramatic dam rescue
The risks associated with high dam levels were underscored on Monday night when four men were rescued from the edge of the Grootdraai Dam spillway near Standerton, Mpumalanga.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said its Witbank and Gauteng stations were activated on Monday, 29 December, following an urgent request from police divers.
The men were trapped in heavy, flowing water, clinging to their ski-boat as it hovered on the brink of the dam wall spillway, facing a drop of about 40 metres into the Vaal River.
“It appears that the four men may have experienced motor mechanical failure to their ski-boat and they had drifted to the edge of the dam wall,” the NSRI said.
ALSO READ: Vaal Dam levels decline this week, could drop below 100% for first time since March
Multi-agency response under extreme conditions
Rescue crews travelled more than 140km from Witbank and 143km from Benoni, while members of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), police, emergency medical services and fire and rescue teams were already on scene but unable to reach the men.
In a critical intervention, a DWS official opened three sluice spillway gates, creating a vacuum that reduced overflow pressure and prevented the boat from being swept over the edge.
“NSRI has commended the Department of Water and Sanitation for what they achieved by opening the three sluice spillway gates,” the statement said.
NSRI Witbank station commander Travis Clack described the operation as a high-risk, time-sensitive rescue.
“This was an unfolding situation faced by various risks at an unfamiliar terrain where decisions made in seconds could determine success or failure,” he said.
Strong winds of 12 to 14 knots complicated the approach, but rescuers eventually used a throw line to pull all four men away from the spillway in a single manoeuvre.
“All four men were rescued onto the rescue craft and brought to shore,” Clack said. “They were medically assessed and found to be not injured.”
The men, from Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and North West, survived the ordeal, while their boat remains lodged on the edge of the weir. Authorities continue to monitor the situation.
NOW READ: MINISTER REPORT CARD: Water management challenges mark Majodina’s tenure
