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dam-l SA dam road "crossing of death"/LS



21 November 1999, Sunday Times, South Africa

 On the crossing of death

Dam built to end severe water shortages is more of a curse than a blessing
for villagers. 'There is a great risk that someone could slip and be sucked
into the culverts under the crossing'. DINA SEEGER
WHEN the rain pours down, the people of Nondwene know that they will have to
start preparing for a funeral.


A dam built by the Department of Water Affairs to end the severe water
shortages in Northern Province has drowned five of their people, washed away
five cars and left behind the horror stories of 16 other survivors who
escaped what the locals call "the crossing of death".

They say the Nondwene dam on the Great Letaba River, 80km north of Tzaneen,
has become the curse of their existence.

The headman of the nearby Xitlakati village, Jackson Baloyi, said he told
the department a year ago to do something about the crossing, but there had
been no reply.

The deaths are blamed on an "extremely dangerous and slippery" temporary
cement road built for the use of construction workers at the base of the
9,5mhigh dam wall. This is the only route between the villages on either
side of the river.

The villagers' old crossing was swallowed up during the construction of the
R40-million project, which began in 1995. Now the locals want a safe bridge
to be constructed, as they claim they were never considered by Water Affairs
before the dam was built.

They claim:

When the water is released the crossing is flooded and they are cut off from
work, schools and homes;

The new "temporary" crossing is more dangerous than the old one;

They have no choice but to use the slippery crossing, even when it is
flooded;

They do not want to walk 20km upstream to the nearest bridge and then
another 20km back to where they wanted to go when the crossing is flooded;

The warning siren installed late last year goes off without reason, so they
often ignore it.

Dr Paul Roberts, of the Department of Water Affairs, admitted the crossing
was "extremely slippery and dangerous". He said an evaluation this year had
shown that residents were ignoring the warning boards, flood-measure beacons
and all other safety precautions provided by the department.

"Local residents are using the apron and the area between the apron and
bridge as a playing ground, to wash clothes and vehicles, and to collect
water.

"This area is also overgrown with algae and is very slippery. There is a
great risk that someone could slip and be sucked into the culverts under the
crossing," he said.

Roberts added that the seriousness of the situation was confirmed by an
accident in March when two women were washed from the bridge after trying to
cross at a time when the water flowing over the bridge deck was too deep.
One of them drowned.

Roberts said the department has tried to stop people crossing the river when
the dam is full. They have installed a warning alarm, put up warning signs
in three languages, and launched a public awareness campaign to explain the
dangers of using the crossing.

He said the most critical problem at this stage was a damaged approach to
the crossing and a hydraulics problem with the gates. He said the approach
to the crossing will be repaired after the hydraulic system on the gates has
been fixed.

"After this work has been completed, the river crossing will be safe for use
as long as the warnings that were put up around the weir are heeded," said
Roberts.

He said the department had discussed a joint venture with the Northern
Province road authority for a proper bridge downstream from the dam wall.
Construction could start within a year at a cost of about R2,6million.

The designer of the dam, Frans Druyts, an engineer with the department, said
that safety measures were still needed although the dam's licence, issued by
the Dam Safety Office in Pretoria on October 12, was "hurried up a bit".

He said the issuing of the permit was rushed so that the dam could legally
store water during the coming rainy season.

Environmental lawyer Robyn Stein, who is also chairman of the dam advisory
committee to the Minister of Water Affairs, said a permit could not be
issued if people's lives were in danger as a result of a dam.

"I am horrified by the situation here. Reasonable measures must be
implemented immediately to allow safe access to schools and work," she said.

Stein said the residents have a constitutional right to insist that the
Department of Water Affairs provides them with a safe crossing.

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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