Dire shortage of inspectors means government does not know if our dams are safe

18 Sep 2024

A lack of qualified inspectors and low compliance with safety reports raises concerns in Parliament.

Following dam walls bursting and causing devastating flash floods in Riverlands, Western Cape, Parliament has heard that the Department of Water and Sanitation has a severe shortage of dam inspectors.

In Riverlands, near the town of Malmesbury, the collapse of a series of three dams owned by the department on 7 August left 107 people homeless and destroyed the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the rural settlement.

The settlement was again flooded on 17 August when a spillway created by engineers at the fourth and largest dam overflowed.

Earlier this month Department of Water and Sanitation Minister Penny Majodina and her deputy told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that the department faced a severe shortage of approved professionals to inspect dams. It currently only employs four inspectors permanently, and there are only 101 on the register of approved professional inspectors countrywide, most of whom (60%) are over 60 years old.

Dam owners must submit a safety report prepared by an approved inspector every five years. The law requires approved professionals to do the inspections, and only the minister may appoint them after consulting with the Engineering Council of South Africa.

Low safety report compliance

Safety report compliance for dams is low, with an overall compliance rate by dam owners of only 33%. The department itself owns 286 dams, and only 41% are compliant. Municipalities, with 217 dams, are the worst offenders with only 24% compliant. The agricultural sector has 1,481 dams and 26% compliance; water boards own 97 dams and have 46% compliance; mines and industry have 240 dams and 40% compliance. There are also unregistered dams.

In November 2022, the department had a safety evaluation backlog of 474 reports, dating back to April 2018. A plan to eradicate this backlog was initiated in February 2023. By then the backlog had risen to 518.

The appointment of a service provider to review and evaluate 42 reports for 2018/19 was carried out this year, at a cost of R917,000. The current backlog of 476 will cost over the next two to three years, commencing in November, an estimated R7.1-million.

Dr Sean Phillips, the Department of Water and Sanitation director-general, said an open tender process had been initiated to address an inspection backlog of hundreds of reports caused by a lack of qualified inspectors.

Need for inspectors

MP Nkosinathi Nxumalo (MK) wondered when the department had recognised the need for inspectors, given the length of time it takes to train an engineer – seven to eight years.

MP Sipho Mahlangu (ANC) asked what the department was doing to address this skills shortage.

Majodina replied that there were strategies to recruit and train more inspectors, with the department engaging with engineering institutions and universities to create a pipeline of young professionals, while also working to fast-track the qualification process.

The department says it is liaising with the engineering council to establish a special category of dam specialists, making it easier for engineers to apply to be approved professionals.

The department says currently internal engineers are conducting monthly and quarterly inspections of its dams. When the engineers identify serious problems, the department appoints an approved professional to carry out an assessment.

Department of Water and Sanitation spokesperson Mandla Mathebula said the department would advertise eight additional posts next month.

“Most of the (approved professionals) that were employed by the department retired from public service, and others resigned to join the private sector,” he said. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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Low safety report compliance

Need for inspectors