Johannesburg - Information about the Vaal Dam has become accessible via Twitter and Facebook, the department of water affairs said on Wednesday.
"Following information on the Vaal Dam is one of the latest developments aimed at making water-related information interesting and accessible via social media sites," said spokesperson Linda Page.
The joint initiative by the department and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Meraka Institute is aimed at extending the dam's appeal to a wider audience.
As a demonstration of the uses of this type of technology, information on the dam's capacity is updated every half hour on www.dwa.gov.za/Hydrology/FFDamOpt.aspx?stationno=C1R001.
This program, by CSIR researcher Laurie Butgereit, then prepares this information for social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
Page said 100 people had signed up as Facebook "friends" of the dam shortly after the launch of the project.
"Following information on the Vaal Dam is one of the latest developments aimed at making water-related information interesting and accessible via social media sites," said spokesperson Linda Page.
The joint initiative by the department and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Meraka Institute is aimed at extending the dam's appeal to a wider audience.
As a demonstration of the uses of this type of technology, information on the dam's capacity is updated every half hour on www.dwa.gov.za/Hydrology/FFDamOpt.aspx?stationno=C1R001.
This program, by CSIR researcher Laurie Butgereit, then prepares this information for social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
Page said 100 people had signed up as Facebook "friends" of the dam shortly after the launch of the project.