Are South Africa’s dams safe? Government does not know

The Bonkolo Dam in Komani, Eastern Cape. The majority of South Africa’s dams are not inspected every five years, as mandated by national regulations. Archive photo: Mkhuseli Sizani

• A severe shortage of approved inspectors has led to a safety report backlog for 476 dams, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) heard in Parliament this month.
• A dam safety report is meant to be submitted every five years, but compliance is very low. Municipalities are among the worst offenders with only 24% of their dams compliant.
• The Department of Water and Sanitation only had four inspectors on permanent employment.
• Last month, dams owned by the department collapsed, flooding a settlement near Malmesbury in the Western Cape, destroying people’s homes and livelihoods.

Following dam walls bursting and causing devastating flash floods in Riverlands, Western Cape, Parliament has heard the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has a severe shortage of dam inspectors.

In Riverlands, near the town of Malmesbury, the collapse of a series of three dams owned by the department on 7 August left 107 people homeless and destroyed the livelihoods of small scale farmers in the rural settlement.

The settlement was again flooded on 17 August when a spillway created by engineers at the fourth and largest dam overflowed.

Earlier this month DWS Minister Penny Majodina and her deputy told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) that the department faces a severe shortage of approved professional people to inspect dams. It currently only employs four inspectors permanently, and there are only 101 on the register of approved professional inspectors countrywide, most of whom (60%) are over 60 years of age.

Dam owners must submit a safety report prepared by an approved inspector every five years. The law requires approved professionals to do the inspections, and only the minister may appoint them after consulting with the Engineering Council of South Africa.

Safety report compliance for dams is low, with an overall compliance rate by dam owners of only 33%. The department itself owns 286 dams and only 41% are compliant. Municipalities, with 217 dams, are the worst offenders – only 24% compliant. The agricultural sector has 1,481 dams and 26% compliance; water boards own 97 dams and have 46% compliance; mines and industry have 240 dams and 40% compliance. There are also unregistered dams.

In November 2022, the department had a safety evaluation backlog of 474 reports, dating back to April 2018. A plan to eradicate this backlog was initiated in February 2023. By then the backlog had risen to 518.

The appointment of a service provider to review and evaluate 42 reports for 2018/19 was carried out this year, at a cost of R917,000. The current backlog of 476 will cost over the next two to three years, commencing in November, an estimated R7.1-million at least.

Dr Sean Phillips, DWS director general, said an open tender process had been initiated to address an inspection backlog of hundreds of reports caused by a lack of qualified inspectors.

MP Nkosinathi Nxumalo (MK) wondered when the department had recognised the need for inspectors, given the length of time it takes to train an engineer – seven to eight years.

MP Sipho Mahlangu (ANC) asked what the department was doing to address this skills shortage.

Majodina replied there were strategies to recruit and train more inspectors, with the department engaging with engineering institutions and universities to create a pipeline of young professionals, while also working to fast-track the qualification process.

The department says it is liaising with the engineering council to establish a special category of dam specialists, making it easier for engineers to apply to be approved professionals.

The department says currently internal engineers are conducting monthly and quarterly inspections of its dams. Where the engineers identify serious problems, the department then appoints an approved professional to carry out an assessment.

DWS spokesperson Mandla Mathebula said the department will advertise eight additional posts next month. “Most of the [approved professionals] that were employed by DWS retired from public service and others resigned to join the private sector,” he said.

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