Spioenkop Dam flood warning: Officials have warned that the Tugela River may burst its banks

Although there has been heavy rain in Ladysmith for the past three days, the Klip River is unlikely at this stage to be at risk of bursting its banks.

The same cannot be said of the Tugela River… As Spioenkop Dam nears 100% full, the river is expected to burst its banks in low-lying areas, especially farmland downstream of the dam.

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The Bergville water purification plant pumps are already flooded and are no longer operational, and uThukela has stressed that they will do their very best to supply Bergville with water.

Woodstock Dam has already burst its banks. With the dam being over 100% full, water is being pumped out of the dam into Sterkfontein Dam.

Water is flowing heavily into Driel Dam, which pushes water into Spioenkop Dam. Currently, there is 750 cubic metres of water per second going into Spioenkop Dam.

Read also: Ladysmith – Heavy rains and flood warnings after Cyclone Dineo – is there a link?

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Yesterday morning, Spioenkop was 77% full and this morning it was 88% full. Currently, the dam is 93% full and is increasing by the second.

It is estimated by dam officials that by midnight tonight, the dam will be 100% full.

This means that water will go over the dam wall, causing flooding of the Tugela River. A warning is out for farmers near the Tugela River that they need to remove all pumps from the river.

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