Gariep Dam | |
---|---|
Official name | Gariep Dam |
Location | Border of Eastern Cape and Free State, South Africa |
Coordinates | 30°37′25.43″S25°30′23.81″E / 30.6237306°S 25.5066139°E |
Construction began | 1965 |
Opening date | 1971 |
Owner(s) | Department of Water Affairs |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Arch-gravity dam |
Impounds | Orange River |
Height | 88 m (289 ft) |
Length | 914 m (2,999 ft) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Gariep Dam Reservoir |
Total capacity | 5,340,000 megalitres (5,340 hm3; 5.34×109 m3) [1] |
Surface area | 374 km2 (144 sq mi) |
Power Station | |
Operator(s) | Eskom |
Turbines | 4 x 90 MW (120,000 hp) |
Installed capacity | 360 MW (480,000 hp) (max) |
Annual generation | 889 GWh (3,200 TJ) [2] |
This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2023) |
The Gariep Dam is located in South Africa, near the town of Norvalspont, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces. Its primary purpose is for irrigation, domestic and industrial use as well as for power generation.
The Gariep Dam, on its commission in 1971, was originally named the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam after Hendrik Verwoerd, the Prime Minister before and after 31 May 1961, when the country changed from the Union of South Africa to the Republic of South Africa. However, after the end of apartheid, the Verwoerd name was considered unsuitable. The name was officially changed to Gariep Dam on 4 October 1996. Gariep is Khoekhoe for "river", the original name of the Orange River. [3]
The dam is on the Orange River about 48 kilometres (30 mi) north-east of Colesberg and 208 kilometres (129 mi) south of Bloemfontein. It is in a gorge at the entrance to the Ruigte Valley some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Norvalspont. The dam crest is some 1300 m (4250 ft) above sea level.
The wall is 88 m high and has a crest length of 914 m and contains approximately 1.73 million m³ of concrete. The Gariep Dam is the largest storage reservoir in South Africa. In South African English, 'dam' refers both to the structure and the water volume it retains. Gariep Dam has a total storage capacity of approximately 5,340,000 megalitres (5,340 hm3) and a surface area of more than 370 square kilometres (140 sq mi) when full. The hydro-electrical power station houses four 90 MW generators.
The structure is a concrete gravity-arch hybrid dam. This design was chosen as the gorge is too wide for a complete arch so flanking walls form gravity abutments to the central arch.
It was built by Dumez, a French construction company.
Gariep Dam bridge | |
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Coordinates | 30°37′22″S25°30′23″E / 30.6228°S 25.5064°E |
Carries | 14300 tons |
Characteristics | |
Width | Doubleway |
Statistics | |
Toll | None |
Location | |
It must be carefully managed by balancing the supply-and-demand of this water resource usage for its derivatives of electricity generation, irrigation(food) and municipal drinking water.
Department of Water - Orange River Basin - Map and flow diagrams Archived 2022-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
Map (Tunnel & Canals)Illustration - Further details on the Department of Water - Fish-Sundays Archived 2021-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
Gariep Hydro-Electric power plants, which is remotely controlled from Gauteng
Further Facts and Details
At Oviston, on the south bank of the reservoir, is the inlet of the Orange-Fish River Tunnel, allowing water to be diverted to the Great Fish River and most of the Eastern Cape's western parts.
There is trade off in the water usage for electricity and inter-basin transfer for water in other areas like Port Elizabeth
Orange-Fish River Tunnel Basin Transfer Schema construction 1972 (Port Elizabeth) on YouTube
The Orange River is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of 2,432 km (1,511 mi), the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia 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 Lesotho and between South Africa and Namibia, 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". It is known in isiZulu as isAngqu.
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