Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme

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The Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme is one of the largest irrigation schemes in the world covering 369.50 square kilometres in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is named after the Vaal River and the Harts River; it being a major tributary of the Vaal River. [1]

Contents

Water from a diversion weir in the Vaal River, near Warrenton, flows through a 1,176 km long network of canals. This system provides irrigation water to a total of 39 820ha scheduled land, industrial water to six towns and other industrial water users [2] .

Each plot feeds off of the canals running past their "front" access from their respective streets into their own reservoirs with their own hatch from the canal. The water then goes through pumps to be sprinkled across the farmland. The most popular method to do this is with pivots. Historically, there were no dams or pumps to speak of. They made use of a process called "leiwater" and simply let the water flow directly from the canals into channels dug into the ground to irrigate it.

Plot numbering

Canal sluice gate marked "G 10" G10 sluice gate.jpg
Canal sluice gate marked “G 10”
An identification plate marked "2 G 10" Plot 2G10 identification plate.jpg
An identification plate marked “2 G 10”

The farmland is divided into individual blocks which each have an identifying letter, or letter group counting up from A from the south, starting at Jan-Kempdorp to M at the north near Magogong. The canals divide into all of the blocks and the streets [3] [4] .

There are usually 6 or more plots on each street. Each plot has a number counting up from one from the south side toward the north. The streets have are enumerated similarly from east to west. To reference a specific plot, the format would be [Plot number] [Block letter] [Street number]. e.g. 7 F 16. This then means "The 7th plot on the 16th street of the F block, or street F 16" [5] .

See also

References

  1. "Vaalharts - A Garden in the Desert" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  2. "Vaalharts Water Scheme History". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. Jckt64 (17 January 2026), English: Canal sluice gate marked “G 9”, corresponding to the 9th street in Block G (Street G 9) of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme, Northern Cape, South Africa. , retrieved 17 January 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. Jckt64 (17 January 2026), English: Canal sluice gate marked “G 10”, corresponding to the 10th street in Block G (Street G 10) of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme, Northern Cape, South Africa. , retrieved 17 January 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. Jckt64 (17 January 2026), English: An identification plate marked “2 G 10” that identifies the pole it's attached to as the electrical supply to Plot 2 G 10, the second plot on Street G 10 of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme, Northern Cape, South Africa. , retrieved 17 January 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

28°01′S24°43′E / 28.017°S 24.717°E / -28.017; 24.717