Study to look into potential dam sitesApril 19, 2006

By Margie Inggs, Business Report National April 19 2006

Durban - The department of water affairs and forestry is investigating measures to alleviate the shortage of water in the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga. Johan Geringer, the department's chief engineer, options analysis east, said measures being considered included water use efficiency, curbing illegal water use and additional storage within the catchment area. "The department is already conducting a study to update the records of natural water availability in the whole of the Inkomati water management area, which includes the Crocodile catchment," he said. Hennie Snyman, the managing director of Tsb Sugar, which has just changed its name from Tsb Sugar because of its new international interests, said another dam was essential to enable the Mpumalanga sugar industry to pull through a four- or five-year drought.
Two dams that have been investigated in the past were the Mountain View on the Kaap River and the Montrose on the Crocodile River, downstream from its confluence with the Elands River.

Geringer said the department would investigate both sites again. While recent good rains have filled the Maguga Dam on the Inkomati River to overflowing for the first time since it was completed in 2001, the region has just survived a three-year drought that left its sugar industry on the brink of disaster. "We could not have managed another year without rain," Snyman said. Mpumalanga receives an average 600mm of rain a year and all agricultural crops are dependant on irrigation. "A new dam is in the department's long-term plans for the region, but we are in discussions with the government in an effort to push these plans into a short-term time frame," said Snyman. Werner Combrie, the department's chief engineer of water resources management for the Mpumalanga region, said it was under pressure from municipalities, the irrigation sector and heads of government, which were all pushing water affairs and forestry to investigate the feasibility of another dam.

Geringer said that as far as potential dam development was concerned, a reconnaissance study had been approved. "The study is likely to start in about August and is not expected to take longer than six months to complete," he said. "The study will look at potential dam sites and if any of these appear viable, then a prefeasibility study will be undertaken to select the best option from the point of view of water availability, economic, social and ecological considerations. "The selected option will then be studied at a feasibility level to establish the technical feasibility, economic viability, environmental impacts, international acceptability, required funding and institutional arrangements. "Geringer also pointed out that the c Crocodile was a difficult river because it flowed through two countries, South Africa and Mozambique. "Before we can go ahead with any dam development, we need to advise Mozambique of our intentions."