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dam-l Pro-dam article in SA paper/LS
The following if from a publication called Highroad, in South Africa. It is
available on www.highroad.co.za. This makes reference to the value of more
dams to feed water-wasteful sugar cane agriculture. It was sent to us by
Earthlife Africa.
Lori
KZN has liquid assets to share
Graham Linscott
WATER is a scarce and precious resource in southern Africa. KwaZulu-Natal
has it in abundance, securing the industrial needs of the
Durban/Pinetown/Pietermaritzburg axis and Richards Bay/Empangeni, as well
as agricultural needs in most parts of the province.
KwaZulu-Natals water is also available to augment supplies elsewhere in the
country, as required.
With Durban earmarked by government to develop into one of the southern
hemispheres largest industrial cities in the next century, water
consumption will be prodigious.
Durban is served by four large dams on the Msunduzi/Mgeni system, augmented
by transfers from the Mooi River catchment, where necessary.
Three proposals are being studied at present to meet future demand. One is
a raising of the dam wall at Midmar, probably by 3,5 metres. Another is
increasing the size of the pumping station for transfers from the Mooi
catchment. The third is to build a new dam with a 60 metre wall in a narrow
gorge at Springrove, near Nottingham Road, on a tributary of the Mooi.
Further into the future, another catchment transfer is possible if a dam
were built at Smithfield, on the Umkomaas, while it is also possible that
eventually Durban could tap into water brought by canal and aqueduct from
the Mzimvubu catchment, in the Eastern Cape, to the Tugela Basin for onward
pumping into the Vaal River system.
At Richards Bay/Empangeni - another fast-developing seaport and industrial
node - the Goedertrouw Dam, on the Mhlatuze River, meets demand, augmented
in times of drought by a transfer from the Tugela, pumped from a weir at
Middeldrift.
At Pongola, the new Paris Dam (paid for by the local Impala Irrigation
Board) promises to significantly increase sugar cane yields in this already
very rich, producing district and develop irrigation opportunities for
newly established small farmers.
Jozini Dam, on the Pongola, provides water for a small farmer irrigation
scheme and could potentially irrigate the vast Makhathini Flats, with their
potential for cotton, sugar and tropical fruits.
In the vast and under-exploited Tugela Basin - South Africas second largest
river system - the towns and their industries are served by four large dams
on the Tugela and its tributaries, while another two are currently under
consideration. Further downstream, the Tugela supplies a giant pulp mill at
Mandini, as well a large industrial estate at Isithebe.
KwaZulu-Natal is well endowed with water, says Joe Hansmann, Water Affairs
regional director. Its a matter of harnessing it, looking at the costs,
looking ahead and doing your best to manage demand. Thats a big factor.
Durban plans to reduce consumption by 10% over two years. It can be done
without hardship, its mainly a matter of being conscious of waste.
Bryan Ashe
Earthlife
Contact details:
e-mail: bryan@cis.co.za