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, the Vaal River being its major tributary. [1]

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Water from a diversion weir in the Vaal River, near Warrenton, flows through a 1,176km 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. This farmland is divided into individual blocks which each have their own letter, or letter group for identification. The blocks are divided into streets which have numbers that count up from the first one out. The canals divide into all of the blocks and the streets. There are a total of 6 plots per street and each plot also has a number from one to six. To reference a specific plot, you take the plot number, follow it up with the block letter and then the street number. e.g. 3 G 13. Each plot feeds off of the canal into their own dams 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 by pivots. [2]

See also

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The Vaalharts Valley is located in the north-east corner of the Northern Cape province of South Africa, bordering the North West province. It gets its name because it is located between two rivers, the Vaal and the Harts. Because of its advantageous position between the two rivers, an irrigation scheme was built in the Vaalharts Valley in the 1930s.

References

  1. "Vaalharts - A Garden in the Desert" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  2. "Vaalharts Water Scheme History". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-22.

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