• All large dam owners must register with the government or face legal trouble.

• Safety checks are required every five years for dams bigger than 20 Olympic pools.

Dam owners across South Africa must register their dams or risk breaking the law, the Department of Water and Sanitation warned on Friday.

Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, has published new rules requiring owners to register any dam that could be dangerous to the public.

The Head of the Specialist Unit for Dam Safety Regulation in the department, Wally Ramokopa, explained which dams need to be registered.

“We look at dams that hold more than 50,000 cubic metres of water and have walls higher than five metres,” he said.

That’s about the size of 20 Olympic swimming pools.

“We are rolling out a mass multimedia campaign to raise awareness about the importance of dam registration to ensure that all dams with safety risks meet compliance standards to reduce potential harm to people, property and the environment,” said Ramokopa.

The department wants to keep track of all dams that could be dangerous if they break or overflow. This includes dams holding water mixed with other substances.

In recent times, two dams broke their walls and flooded adjacent residential homes in the Free State and Northern Cape respectively, causing millions of rands of damage, including the loss of lives.

Dam owners who have already registered must make sure their details are up to date. Those who haven’t registered need to fill in forms and send them to the department.

“Dam owners must have safety inspections at least every five years. They need to get an approved professional person to do these checks,” Ramokopa said.

The new rules come from the National Water Act and Dam Safety Regulations.

Pictured above: The Nagle Dam.

Source: Supplied