The De Hoop Dam is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...

on the

Steelpoort River The Steelpoort River, iNdubazi or Tubatse () is a river in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It flows northeastwards and is a right hand tributary of the Olifants River, joining it at the lower end of its basin. Its source is located at Kwaggaskop ...

, near

Burgersfort Burgersfort is located in the valley of the Spekboom River at the edge of the Bushveld Complex in the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality of the Limpopo province of South Africa, near the border with the Mpumalanga province. The town was named ...

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Its purpose is to enable the extraction of rich mineral deposits in the eastern

province, and to supply

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s, industries and communities in the Sekhukhune district, where service delivery was of a poor standard. The completion of the dam was delayed by four years (2010 to 2014) due to supply chain problems, technical and equipment problems, deficient environmental impact studies, resettlement of families in the area, and labour strikes. The flagship dam in the Olifants system, South Africa's largest dam since the 1970s, was developed by the

Department of Water Affairs The Department of Water and Sanitation is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa. In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of ...

. The project of R3,4 billion involved innovative solutions in energy dissipation and the use of roller-compacted concrete, for which the department received a Fulton award. It was the second phase of the Olifants River Water Resources Development Programme (ORWRDP), the only viable solution for water delivery to the Nebo plateau, where some 800,000 people are resident. The first phase, completed in 2006, included capacity improvements to the Flag Boshielo Dam.

References

List of South African Dams
from the

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (South Africa) Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Dams in South Africa Dams completed in 2014 Gravity dams Buildings and structures in Limpopo 2014 establishments in South Africa 21st-century architecture in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-dam-stub

See also

References