Staff Reporter
THE Lower Orange River remains in flood and is expected to stay at high levels in the coming weeks due to ongoing inflows from dam releases upstream in South Africa.
According to the Hydrological Services of Namibia, the water level of the Lower Orange River at Blouputs was recorded at 5.46 metres on Thursday morning, while at Sendelingsdrift, it stood at 6.10 metres on the same day.
“Water levels in the major dams in the Vaal-Orange River System are currently high. The Vaal Dam is at 109.5% of full capacity, with one sluice gate open and an outflow of 155.0 m³/s. Bloemhof Dam is at 104.4%, with a higher release of approximately 801.2 m³/s. Both the Gariep Dam and Van der Kloof Dam are recorded at 102.9% and 105.5% of capacity respectively, with corresponding outflows of 749.9 m³/s and 834.7 m³/s,” the Hydrological Services of Namibia explained.
Recent video of Orange River. Video: contributed.
Flows in the Lower Orange River are therefore expected to remain elevated in the coming weeks. The Hydrological Services of Namibia has advised communities near the river to remain vigilant and exercise caution.
The recent rapid rise in the Orange River’s water level led to the closure of a section of the MR118 (Oranjemund–Rosh Pinah Road). The Roads Authority (RA) confirmed that this section remains closed, as water is still present along the road margins, rendering it unsafe to reopen at this time.
“Our team continues to closely monitor the situation on site and assess safety. The section of road will only be reopened once it is deemed safe for all vehicles. We urge all motorists to refrain from attempting to use the road and to make use of the alternative detour routes provided earlier on this platform,” the RA added.
