Vaal Dam levels

They've implemented water shedding in many parts of gauteng. The majority of savings will be from the leaking and burst pipes they haven't fixed.
 
I have a theory:

While the minimum level of the Vaal dam is imminent, and it is important to not drop below that level, the real reason why the decision was taken to open the gates at Sterkfontein is because the water people know the Sterkfontein dam is expecting an inflow as a result of the recent rains in that catchment area ..... more than will be required to fill the Sterkfontein dam.

;)
 
daniellgr said:
I have a theory:

While the minimum level of the Vaal dam is imminent, and it is important to not drop below that level, the real reason why the decision was taken to open the gates at Sterkfontein is because the water people know the Sterkfontein dam is expecting an inflow as a result of the recent rains in that catchment area ..... more than will be required to fill the Sterkfontein dam.

;)
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Sterkfontein doesn't have a catchment area.

Well technically it does but it's smaller than the surface of the Vaal....
 
ok, noob question on catchment areas.

How does it work in JHB? Eg. lots of rain in various parts of JHB & PTA today and recent days. Where does the stormwater end up?
 
reactor_sa said:
They've implemented water shedding in many parts of gauteng. The majority of savings will be from the leaking and burst pipes they haven't fixed.
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Then there will be more burst pipes from switching the water on and off.
 
naeem said:
ok, noob question on catchment areas.

How does it work in JHB? Eg. lots of rain in various parts of JHB & PTA today and recent days. Where does the stormwater end up?
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Some flows South into the Vaal river below the Vaal dam. Some flows North West into the Crocodile river and the Hartebeestpoort dam. Other flow North in to smaller dams such the Roodeplaat dam .. The Rains in PTA east all end up in rivers and spruits such as the Apies and Morelata. Parts of the Gauteng feed into the Rietvlei dam.
 
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daniellgr said:
Some flows South into the Vaal river below the Vaal dam. Some flows North West into the Crocodile river and the Hartebeestpoort dam. Other flow North in to smaller dams such the Roodeplaat dam .. The Rains in PTA east all end up in rivers and spruits such as the Apies and Morelata. Parts of the Gauteng feed into the Ritevlei dam.
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thanks :)

So boils down to the rain needing to fall in the right areas.
 
Sinbad said:
Except all the leaks
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Yeah, but they're be leaking all the time anyway.

They keep telling us the major users they want to cut down are the domestic use of water on gardens and cars and paving. Ain't no one washing their car or watering at that time of night.
 
pinball wizard said:
Yeah, but they're be leaking all the time anyway.

They keep telling us the major users they want to cut down are the domestic use of water on gardens and cars and paving. Ain't no one washing their car or watering at that time of night.
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No leaks if there's no water...
 
Sinbad said:
No leaks if there's no water...
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Yeah but they keep telling us that the loss through leaks is within accepted limits and international best practise. I mean you can never have zero leaks.

They keep telling us that we are way above the world average of water being used in a domestic setting, cars, gardens, etc.

Anyway.

Fifteen minutes into water shedding, and we still have full pressure here.
 
pinball wizard said:
Yeah but they keep telling us that the loss through leaks is within accepted limits and international best practise. I mean you can never have zero leaks.

They keep telling us that we are way above the world average of water being used in a domestic setting, cars, gardens, etc.

Anyway.

Fifteen minutes into water shedding, and we still have full pressure here.
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It's not. Systemic loss is between 50 and 70 percent last I heard
 
If the Vaal dam is so inefficient due to its surface area being so wide have there been any attempts to make it deeper?

Wouldn’t it be easy to excavate and then dumping the soil on the dams banks thus reducing its width?
 
LaraC said:
If the Vaal dam is so inefficient due to its surface area being so wide have there been any attempts to make it deeper?

Wouldn’t it be easy to excavate and then dumping the soil on the dams banks thus reducing its width?
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Probably easier to build another dam somewhere upstream, more cost effective than excavating a dam.
 
If the city fixed burst pipes faster and stolen meters then we wouldn't be experiencing this crisis... If storm drain were unblocked during the rainy season surely that water can be used
 
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