Swartland Municipality says DWS plan for slow release of water from Riverlands dam failed

CAPE TOWN - The Swartland Municipality has distanced itself from Riverlands’ latest flooding crisis after the Water and Sanitation Department opened the fourth dam’s spillways.

Residents, who had to be evacuated for a second time, have since called for the area to be declared a disaster.

The Swartland Municipality said it had warned the Water and Sanitation Department officials about the possible risks if engineers used the newly constructed spillways to lower the dam levels.

Municipal spokesperson, Mart-Marié Haasbroek, said that after the excavation water flowed uncontrollably into the community as the department’s team had failed to redirect the spillways away from people’s homes.

"The Swartland Municipality was forced to evacuate the Riverlands residents again. The evacuation was necessitated following the work that the Department of Water and Sanitation was doing at the fourth dam. Although, the initial plan to the municipality indicated a slow release of water from this dam to minimise the risk of possible flooding, the plan by the department failed."

Haasbroek added that the municipality’s officials were conducting their own damage assessment to determine the number of residents affected in the second flood.