As River | |
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Location | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Free State |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
⁃ coordinates | 28°30′38″S28°21′47″E / 28.51056°S 28.36306°E |
⁃ elevation | 2,160 m (7,090 ft) |
Mouth | |
⁃ coordinates | 28°16′36″S28°22′22″E / 28.27667°S 28.37278°E Coordinates: 28°16′36″S28°22′22″E / 28.27667°S 28.37278°E |
⁃ elevation | 1,630 m (5,350 ft) |
Length | 50 km (31 mi) |
Discharge | |
⁃ average | 18 m3/s (640 cu ft/s) |
The As River is a tributary of the Liebenbergsvlei River in the eastern Free State, South Africa. Since 1968 it is impounded by the Sol Plaatje Dam (formerly: Saulspoort Dam) at its confluence with the latter river, just east of Bethlehem. Its origin is some 35 km southeast of Bethlehem, on the northern slopes of the Rooiberge, near Clarens. With the opening of the northern delivery tunnel of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in 1998, the once tiny stream was transformed to a strong-flowing river. [1]
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called Orange Free State and later Orange Free State Province.
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European, Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.
Sol Plaatje Dam is an earth-fill type dam located at the confluence of the As and Liebenbergsvlei Rivers near Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1968 and serves mainly for municipal and domestic water supply. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high. The reservoir receives water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project via the As River.
The As River is one of the discharge points for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. [2] As of 2004, 18 cubic meters of water was released per second, [1] and the river's flow is consequently not seasonally variable. [3]
The Stortemelk Dam, situated downstream of the outfall, was one measure taken by the then Department of Water Affairs, to stabilize water flow and limit erosion. [3] By 2004, four weirs had been built. [1]
Two privately owned hydro powered power plants, the Sol Plaatje and Merino, were commissioned in 2009 and 2012 respectively, and supply a total of 7 MW to the power grid. [4] The automated and low maintenance Stortemelk Hydropower Project at the Botterkloof Dam is set to contribute a further 4.4 MW to the power grid, starting July 2016. [3] [5]
Bethlehem Hydro owns and operates two small hydro power plants situated in the Dihlabeng Local Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa. The scheme utilizes the water supplied to South Africa by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which releases water into the As River via a tunnel outlet near the town of Clarens. South Africa has limited potential for hydro energy due to low average annual rainfall making projects like Bethlehem Hydro rare. The project was identified in 1999 and developed by NuPlanet Project Development. The two power stations in the scheme will cut back carbon dioxide emissions by 33,000 tons per year by reducing the demand for traditional fossil-fuel power stations.
The watt is a unit of power. In the International System of Units (SI) it is defined as a derived unit of 1 joule per second, and is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. In dimensional analysis, power is described by .
The opening of the northern delivery tunnel in 1998 caused physical and chemical changes to the river, as water volumes increased and water temperature decreased, scouring of the river channel occurred, and much silt was deposited in Saulspoort Dam. [1] Populations of key indicator species like smallmouth and largemouth yellowfish decreased, and seven of the river's nine fish species disappeared from the outfall's vicinity. Recovery of invertebrates was only noticeable some kilometers downstream, and the weirs proved ineffective when water is released in high volumes. Though much habitat is still available, the river's population by aquatic organisms is limited by water turbidity, low water temperature and its erosion potential. [1]
The smallmouth yellowfish is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Labeobarbus. It has become an invasive species in rivers of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, such as the Mbhashe River.
The largemouth yellowfish or Vaal-Orange largemouth yellowfish is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. This large freshwater barb is found in southern Africa.
The name is often mistranslated from Afrikaans to English as "Ash River". The name, however, refers to a wagon axle which, according to legend, broke near the river (the Afrikaans word for an axle being “as”); therefore a correct translation would be "Axle River", and not “Ash River".
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and, to a lesser extent, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It evolved from the Dutch vernacular of Holland spoken by the largely Dutch settlers in the south-west of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. Hence, it is a daughter language of Dutch.
An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa but also in New Zealand and Australia. Ox-wagons were also used in the United States. The first recorded use of an ox-wagon was around 1670, but they continue to be used in some areas up to modern times.
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The ǂNūǃarib (Senqu) "Black River", IGqili, or under the colonial name, Orange River, is the longest river in Lesotho and the Orange River Basin extends extensively into South Africa, Namibia and Botswana to the north. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Namibia and between South Africa and Lesotho, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Except for Upington, it does not pass through any major cities. The Orange River plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The river was named the Orange River in honour of the Dutch ruling family, the House of Orange, by the Dutch explorer Robert Jacob Gordon. Other names include simply the word for river, in Khoekhoegowab orthography written as !Garib, which is rendered in Afrikaans as Gariep River with the intrusion of a velar fricative in place of the alveolar click, Groote River or Senqu River, derived from ǂNū "Black".
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