logo
logo
Sign in

Here Is The List Of Biggest Dams In South Africa

avatar
The Business Alert
Here Is The List Of Biggest Dams In South Africa

In this post, i'm going to list all the most important dams in South Africa. Most of those dam reservoirs are for domestic and irrigation purposes while other bigger ones are wont to generate power for electricity (hydropower).

For a dam to be classified as large in South Africa, it must meet certain criteria like the peak and therefore the impounds.

Dams with a height of over 15 meters are considered. Moreover, some dam reservoirs between the peak of 5 to fifteen meters and impounding quite 3 million cubic meters also are considered.

One interesting thing you'll notice about this list of dams in South Africa is that the majority of them (over 74%) are earthfill dams while the remaining 26% is formed from Rockfill, concrete arch, and concrete gravity dams.

Also, you'll get to understand more about the best dam in South Africa which is that the Vanderkloof Dam with a height of 108 meters and is found on the Orange.

Read this: Visa Free Countries for Uganda.

1. GARIEP DAM

The Gariep Dam is the biggest in South Africa. it's a concrete gravity-arch hydro sort of dam. The dam was originally called the Verwoerd Dam.

It is located on the brink of a town called Norvalspont and borders Eastern Cape and Free State provinces.

When was Gariep Dam built? the development of this reservoir begun in 1965 and opened in 1971.

The Gariep Dam is owned by the South African Department of Water Affairs.

The main purpose of the Gariep Dam is for power generation, irrigation, industrial and domestic uses.

But how long is that the Gariep Dam? This dam features a height of 88m, a length of 914m, and a complete water capacity of 5,340,600 mega-liters of water. The dam with the most important area in South Africa is that the Gariep dam (352 million meters square).

Here are some rivers and other water bodies that flow into the Gariep:

Orange River
Caledon River
Palmietspruit
Slykspruit
Broekspruit
Brakspruit
Oudagspruit
Read also: Top Insurance Companies In South Africa.

Read this: GTBank USSD Transfer Code.

2. VANDERKLOOF DAM

The Vanderkloof Dam was previously called the P.K Le Roux Dam named after one among South African National Party politicians who became Minister of Water Affairs and Agricultural Technical Services in 1958.

Construction of Vanderkloof Dam began in 1973 and completed and commissioned in 1977.

The Vanderkloof Dam is one among the most important in South Africa with a height of 108m and a length of 756m and a complete capacity of three,236 million cubic meters of water.

Vanderkloof Dam occupies a neighborhood of 133.402 square kilometers (51.5 square miles).

The main purpose of the Vanderkloof Dam is power generation with an installed capacity of up to 360 MW of energy. most of the people along the Orange use it for domestic purposes.

Read this: Access Bank Transfer Code For Nigeria.

3. STERKFONTEIN DAM

This is the second-highest dam wall up South Africa. Construction of the Sterkfontein Dam started in 1969 and completed for the commission in 1980 meaning it took about eleven (11) years for the dam to be constructed.

It is located within the Free State province outside the Harrismith town.

The name Sterkfontein is an Afrikaans word sense “Strong Fountain”.

The Sterkfontein Dam is a component of the Tugela-Vaal water development.

Being the third (3rd) largest dam in South Africa, the Sterkfontein Dam reservoir features total water capacity of two,616,900 megalitres and a volume of 19,800,000 cubic meters. it's a height of 97 meters and a length of 3,000 meters.

Recommended reading: Complete List Of All Standard Bank Branches In SA.

Read this: Top Universities In Ghana.

4. VAAL DAM

This dam is that the fourth (4th) largest in South Africa by volume and therefore the second (2nd) biggest dam by area.

The Vaal Dam among the tourist attractions within the Gauteng province. It offers a good range of water-related activities including swimming, boating, water skiing and lots more.

Which dam feeds the Vaal Dam? Some rivers that feed the Vaal dam are Klip River, Grootspruit, Wilge River, and Molspruit river. it's a shoreline of over 800 kilometers.

How full is that the Vaal Dam? The dam can hold a maximum of 2,609,800,00 cubic meters of water. it's a height of 54.2m and occupies a area of 320 square kilometers.

When was the Vaal Dam Built? The dam was constructed within the year 1938 as a venture by the South African Department of Water Affairs and Rand Water.

Where is that the Vaal Dam situated? The Vaal Dam in South Africa is situated about 77 kilometers south of Johannesburg and stretches across three (3) provinces: Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga.

The Vaal Dam water levels are nearly always high.

Because large floods are expected to occur on the Vaal River, a spillway capacity of 25,00 cubic meters/s was created.

5. PONGOLAPOORT/JOZINI DAM

The Pongolapoort Dam is usually called Lake Jozini. it's an arch type dam and therefore the Phongolo River is that the major feeder of the Jozini dam.

At the time of its construction, the Jozini dam was the most important in South Africa.

It is located on the Phongolo River within the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

Wildlife and history: The Jozini dam was constructed within the year 1973 and fully owned by the Department of Water Affairs. More importantly, the Jozini dam is heavily populated with private wildlife reserves additionally to the Pongola Game Reserve.

These game reserves have many campsites for fishing also as private lodges for accommodation.

How long is that the Jozini dam? The Jozini dam is 89m high, 451m long and features a total capacity of 2,445,900,000 cubic meters of water. It occupies 7814 square kilometers of the catchment basin .

The main purpose of the Ponglolapoort Dam is irrigation.

Don’t miss this: Business Ideas in South Africa.

Read this: List Of Top Insurance Companies In South Africa.

6. BLOEMHOF DAM

Located at the confluence of the Vet River and Vaal RIver, Bloemhof Dam is one among the most important in South Africa . it had been initially called the Oppermansdrif Dam during its construction introduce 1960.

It is situated between the Free State and therefore the North West provinces of South Africa.

Construction of the dam was completed and commissioned in 1970.

The Bloemhof on the Vaal River is that the dam with the longest crest in SA (4270 meters) and 33 meters high. it's a complete water capacity of 1,269,000,000 cubic meters and occupying an area of 2226 hectares.

7. KRUISMANSRIVIER DAM

As the name implies, the Kruismansrivier Dam is found on the Kruis River within the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

It was constructed in 1992 and features a height of 18 meters and a complete water capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters.

The main purpose of the Kruismansrivier Dam is irrigation and domestic use.

8. THEEWATERSKLOOF DAM

This dam is often found on the Sounderend River near Villiersdorp within the Western Cape Province of South Africa. If you would like the most important dam within the Western Cape Province, then it's the Theewaterskloof Dam. It can delay to 480 million cubic meters of water.

The construction of the Theewaterskloof Dam was completed and commissioned in 1980 and therefore the main purpose is for domestic use also as for irrigation.

The Theewaterskloof Dam is 646 meters long, 25 meters high, and occupies an area of 5,059 hectares.

9. GREATER BRANDVLEI DAM

This dam may be a merger of the Brandvlei Dam ( also called Lake Marais) and therefore the Kwaggaskloof Dam. the development was completed in 1989 with a complete water capacity of 459 million cubic meters.

It is 21.5 meters high and 1250 meters long occupying a catchment basin of 64 square kilometers.

The Greater Brandvlei Dam is found on the Breede River near Worcester within the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

The main purpose of this dam reservoir is for irrigation and domestic use.

Read this: List Of Standard Bank Branches In South Africa.

10. HEYSHOPE DAM

The Heyshope Dam is the largest dam within the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. it's an earth-fill sort of dam constructed in 1986 on the Assegaai River.

This dam is fully managed by the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

The Heyshope Dam is 28.5 meters high, 1,030 meters long and occupies a catchment basin of 1120 square kilometers.

11. WOODSTOCK DAM

Located in Tugela within the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, Woodstock Dam is one of the most important bams within the country. The Woodstock Dam Reservoir was constructed and commissioned in 1982 with a complete capacity of 373.26 million cubic meters of water. It measures 54 meters (177 ft) high and 865 meters (2,838 ft) long.

Source: https://thebusinessalert.com/largest-dams-south-africa/

collect
0
avatar
The Business Alert
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more