Filled to capacity 

Rustenburg - The Olifantsnek Dam is always a welcome sight for Rustenburg community members returning home. More so now with the dam filled to its full capacity.

Those who made the effort to go and have a closer look of the dam in full overflow were rewarded with a magnificent sight on Friday 11 November.

According to the Olifantsnek Irrigation Board’s water bailiff, the dam was this full back in March 2014. 
The dam is a popular weekend getaway for catamaran enthusiasts. During the holidays and long weekends, the dam is lined with anglers camping at their favourite spot to try their luck.

It is said that the dam got its name from the mountain overlooking the dam, which resembles an elephant’s neck, face, and trunk. Some believe that the dam was named ‘Olifantsnek’ because of the herds of wild elephants that once roamed the area.  

According to a report by the Department of Water and Sanitation, the dam was recorded as being 102% full on Monday 14 November 2022. Their report also shows a stark contrast to last year’s report for the same date, which recorded the dam as only being 37.2% full. 

The dam has a capacity of 14,203 million cubic litres and due to the heavy rains, it pushed up and out to its full capacity, filling large areas that haven’t seen water for years. 

The Olifantsnek Dam wall is 30 metres high and 129 metres long and has three sluices. The dam is privately owned by Olifantsnek Irrigation Board, which supplies agricultural water to the Kroondal area and other places along the R24.

The board constantly monitors the dam’s water level, and when necessary, they open the emergency sluice as a safety precaution, making sure that there is not a sudden influx of water running into the Hex River. A sudden influx of water can lead to the situation reported on, on the front page of the previous issue of Platinum Weekly.

The emergency sluice is also opened from time to time to release silt and mud from the dam. The other two sluices are opened weekly to supply irrigation water to local farmers.

During the heavy rains on Friday 11 November, the emergency sluice was opened. It released a lot of   silt and mud, creating space for direct rainwater and water from the fast-flowing Hex River (due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas) feeding into the dam.

The water gushing from the sluice is reddish-brown in colour compared to the clear water flowing over the dam wall. TripHobo’s website (a popular vacation planning website) indicates that the average maximum rainfall in the area for November is usually around 169.16 mm, but the areas in and around Olifantsnek have already received up to 257.4 mm of rainfall!

Although the emergency sluice has been closed since then, the dam is still filled to the brim—which is indeed a rare sight. On a less positive note for local anglers, a lot of fish went over the dam wall with the overflow. True to the circle of life, the fish going with the flow over the dam wall, become a source of protein for wildlife down below and downstream. 

The communities of Rustenburg and surrounds can surely be thankful towards the Olifantsnek Irrigation Board for the preservation of this beautiful landmark and the environment surrounding the dam.

For videos of the overflowing dam, visit Platinum Weekly’s Facebook page.

Olifantsnek Dam – After receiving water level statistics, rainfall figures and various videos of the Olifantsnek Dam in full overflow from our readers over the past week, team Platinum Weekly investigated to give our readers the bigger picture and an insight into ‘behind the scenes’ work done by Olifantsnek Irrigation Board.

Their work ensure that areas affected by water flowing from the Olifantsnek dam are not negatively affected. Their work also involves managing water flow to supply a stable source of irrigation water to local farmers and they also monitor and manage the environmental health of the dam and its immediate environment.

According to the Olifantsnek Irrigation Board’s water bailiff, the the dam was this full back in March 2014. 

A report by the Department of Water and Sanitation state that the dam was recorded as being 102% full on Monday 14 November 2022. Their report also shows a stark contrast to last year’s report, which recorded the dam as only being 37.2% full. 

The provincial storage capacity has marginally increased from last week’s 72.4% to 81.2% When compared to a similar period last year, the province’s overall capacity stood at 69.9% 

More figures by the Department of Water and Sanitation on the status of dam levels in the province this week: 

• Roodekopjes Dam is up from 78.1% to 88.6% 
• Ngotwane Dam has increased from last week’s 39.6% to 49.80%
• Bospoort Dam located near Rustenburg has marginally increased from 102.6% to 104.3%
• Klipvoor Dam recorded 97.4% from 72.6% in the previous week.  
• Molatedi Dam near Zeerust remains below average at 39.0% from 36.7%
• Hartbeespoort Dam is above average at 99.2% from 97.6%
• Taung Dam has increased from 94.0% to 99.3%
•  Meanwhile, Vaalkop and Marico Bosveld Dams have recorded 103.9% and 102.2% respectively. The dams stood at 78.2% and 84.7% last week.  
• Madikwe Dam has increased from 43.4% to 51.0% 
• Also on the rise is Boskop Dam at 111.0% from 101.6%. 
• Koster Dam is filling up from below average 45.0% to 96.5% 
• Setumo Dam remains a steady at 77.9% from last week’s 76.9%
• Disaneng and Lindsleypoort Dams are currently standing at 63.4% and 105.3% respectively, after recording 62.3% and 58.4%

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