Limpopo has three climatic regions: the escarpment (subhumid with annual rainfall of more than 700mm); semi-arid middle veld and Highveld; and the arid and semi-arid Lowveld.
Floods have been known to tear through parts of Limpopo but the more obvious threat to the livelihood of the province’s citizens is drought. Like much of South Africa, Limpopo is essentially a dry area. Water is a scarce resource so it is appropriate that government (national and provincial) and relevant agencies have been investing in water infrastructure in Limpopo for several years now. The fruits of this investment will include better control of flooding, and a more plentiful and regular supply of water.
Investors contemplating injections of capital into water-intensive activities in sectors such as agriculture or mining know that water management is an integral part of planning.
In addition to several completed projects, feasibility studies for the construction of the Nwamitwa Dam in Mopani have recently been completed.
Nandoni Water Purification Plant
In 2006, the north-eastern corner of Limpopo received a new dam, the Nandoni Dam. This project in itself made a big difference in the lives of the rural communities.
The purification scheme, for which tenders went out in 2009, is located in Vhembe District within the greater Luvuvhu and Letaba water management area, which borders on Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Luvuvhu River is a direct tributary of the Limpopo River. Rainfall varies from well over 1 000mm per year to less than 300mm. Economic activity is mostly based on irrigation, forestry, tourism and subsistence farming. More than 90 per cent of the population of about 1.5 million live in rural communities.
Surface water mainly originates in the mountainous areas and is regulated by several dams in the upper and middle reaches of the rivers. Over-exploitation of groundwater has been identified as a problem.
The construction of a water purification plant associated with the dam, with the installed capacity of 30 000 cubic metres per day, will have a major impact on the quality of life of the citizens living in this remote part of the province.
Mokolo Crocodile Project
This project is intended to deliver water to the new power station being constructed at Lephalale in the western part of the Waterberg region. The Medupi Power Station, although it has been designed to minimise water usage, is a huge undertaking and the project is anticipated to deliver an initial amount of 50 million cubic metres.
Engineering News reported in 2009 that the project had an initial cost estimate of R10- billion and that the client set to deliver the pump station and the 81-km pipeline is the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority.
Olifants River Water Resource Development Project
An ongoing project in the eastern half of
Limpopo seeks to transform and control water usage for the maximum benefit of industrial, commercial and private users. The ambitious scheme was commissioned by the then Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the first phase of construction started in 2007.
The Olifants River Water Resource Development Project is a multipurpose project incorporating new water resource infrastructure in the form of a storage dam at De Hoop, several pump stations, storage reservoirs and more than 300km of bulk-transfer pipelines. The total value of the project is approximately R7.4-billion.
The Olifants River System (and associated systems such as the Blyde Irrigation Scheme) is part of the region that is South Africa’s greatest producer of citrus and subtropical fruits. The importance of a steady supply of water to the mining sector (in the area south and east of Polokwane) cannot be overstated.
Construction on the De Hoop Dam began in 2007, with a view to delivering water by April 2011. River diversions have been completed and cofferdams prepared. During the construction of the dam, about 460 jobs were created for poor people living in the area.
Once operational, the dam will relieve some of the pressure on Flag Boshielo Dam, which serves the mining industry and which had its wall raised by five metres as part of the scheme.
The De Hoop Dam is being built on the Steelpoort River (Subphase 2A) and this involved the construction of three gauging weirs on the river, as well as the realignment of 25km of the R555 provincial road between Steelpoort and Stoffberg around the basin of the dam.
The construction of a 70km bulk pipeline, associated pump stations, balancing dams, offtakes and reservoirs from the Flag Boshielo Dam make up Subphases 2B and 2G. The pipeline will run mainly along the D2015, D885 and P18 roads to Pruissen farm, east of Mokopane. An upgrade of this will follow later in the form of a second parallel pipeline.
The project also entails the construction of a 23km pipeline, associated pump stations, balancing dams, offtakes and reservoirs from the De Hoop Dam to Jane Furse, in order to supply potable water to the Nebo plateau for communal water supply.
The main road contractor is a joint venture between Hillary, Liviero and Eigenbau. The main civil contractor for the dam is Dwaf Construction West, and subcontractors include B&E International (fine and coarse aggregate supply, crusher run and riprap), Limpopo PR & Construction (drilling and blasting) and Twin Cities (cement supply).
ONLINE RESOURCES
Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism: www.ledet.gov.za
