The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has dispatched a team of dam safety engineers to assess and closely monitor Senteeko Dam near Barberton in Mpumalanga, within the City of Mbombela Local Municipality, following reports that the dam is at risk of failure.
The intervention follows notification received by the department regarding the condition of the privately owned dam.
The department said the dam, officially registered as My Own Dam (publicly referred to as Senteeko Dam), is registered with the Department’s Dam Safety Office as a medium-sized dam, standing 26 metres high with a storage capacity of 1.8 million cubic metres. The dam is owned by the Shamile Communal Property Association (CPA) and is used for irrigation purposes.
According to the department, a team of dam safety engineers, working with the owner’s previously appointed Approved Professional Person (APP) for the dam, has been dispatched to site to conduct a technical assessment of reported damage and to continue monitoring the dam closely.
“The dam is an earthfall embarkment dam with a concrete spillway. Assessments and observations by the department’s Dam Safety Specialists indicate that undercutting of the spillway channel is continuing, eroding and posing a threat to the stability of the structure.
“The spillway channel slab is currently slightly suspended or cantilevered. There is currently no overtopping of the dam wall, and no excessive seepage has been observed on the earthfill embankment wall,” the department said in a statement.
The department confirmed that the dam’s outlet valve has been fully opened in accordance with the dam operating rules. However, due to increased inflows from the Die Kaap River, which is a tributary feeding the dam, the lowering of the dam water level has been minimal.
“This side-channel spillway is intended to lower the water level in the dam, thereby reducing undercutting of the spillway channel and preventing catastrophic failure of the dam. It is anticipated that this exercise will proceed even if additional rainfall is experienced.
“The areas most likely to be affected have been identified as those in close proximity to the dam, particularly Barberton Valley. Relevant communications, warnings and evacuation processes are being implemented by the relevant authorities,” the department said.
Meanwhile, observations by the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) indicate that flows in the upper reaches of the Die Kaap River have decreased since 19 January 2026.
The Crocodile River, located about 60 kilometres from Senteeko Dam, is currently flowing within normal recent peak levels.
The department said that any additional flows that may result from an unforeseen dam failure, should current interventions prove insufficient, are expected to have minimal impact on transboundary flows to Mozambique, which are currently elevated due to the recent flooding.
“The Department of Water and Sanitation takes dam safety seriously and urges communities to comply with all evacuation orders issued along the Die Kaap River. The public is also advised to avoid low-water bridges, unnecessary travel, and activities near rivers,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
