The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has issued a dam safety directive to Shamile CPA, owner of Mpumalanga-based My Own Dam, publicly known as Senteeko dam, to immediately undertake action to stabilise the dam and prevent further deterioration.

This intervention follows ongoing technical assessments, which confirmed that the dam is still in a compromised and partially failed condition, and that without urgent remedial action, further deterioration is likely to continue.

“These conditions pose an unacceptable level of risk that cannot be adequately managed through monitoring alone. The department is therefore acting decisively to ensure that the dam owner fulfils their legal responsibility to maintain the dam in a safe condition,” the DWS said in a statement on Wednesday.

Following heavy rainfall in January, the dam’s spillway structure had suffered severe and irreversible deterioration, leading to structural instability and triggering a series of emergency interventions by the DWS and the dam owner’s appointed professional engineer (APP).

This included the excavation of a temporary emergency spillway to relieve pressure from the dam.

While water levels in the dam have dropped, the reduction has not been sufficient to eliminate the risk of failure.

“Engineers have consciously avoided lowering the water level too rapidly, as this could trigger a rapid drawdown failure of the already compromised dam structure, which would significantly worsen the situation,” the DWS explained.

Continued deterioration of the dam poses a direct threat to downstream farming communities, including the potential loss of life, damage to homes and infrastructure, risks that are heightened during periods of rainfall and cannot be ignored or deferred.

“The risk associated with the Senteeko dam has not yet been averted, and regulatory enforcement will remain in place until that risk is meaningfully reduced.”

To address the prevailing risk, the DWS directed the APP to urgently assess the condition of the dam and determine – within seven days – the specific remedial measures required to prevent further deterioration and reduce the risk of failure.

These determinations must submitted to the department’s Dam Safety Office for review and approval, and once approved, urgent repair works and the appointment of a competent and suitably qualified contractor, will need to start immediately.

“All repair works must be carried out under the supervision of the APP and continue until the department is satisfied that the dam no longer poses an unacceptable risk to downstream communities.”

The department expects all required engineering designs and technical submissions to be received on or before February 13 and failure to comply will result in further enforcement action.

The department assured that it will prioritise all necessary regulatory approvals to ensure that corrective work proceeds without delay.