The Kouga Dam is full for the first time in eight years

Water

Fri, 29 September 2023

The cut-off low that resulted in signficant flooding and road-damage in the parts of the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape has resulted in enough rain in the catchment area to fill the Kouga Dam for the first time since 2015.

The dam was at 61% capacity before the recent storm and at 21% a year ago, after having dropped below 10% capacity in 2021.

The Kouga Dam, which has a wall height of 94.5m and a maximum water depth of 53m, was the first double curvature arch dam built in South Africa. The dam has a 388 700 hectare catchment area and a capacity of 125.5 million cubic meters when full.

The Gamtoos Irrigation Board operates the Kouga Dam under contract with the Department of Water and Sanitation and is based in the town of Patensie in the Gamtoos River Valley in the Eastern Cape.

While much focus has been put on the state of the Kouga Dam in relation to Nelson Mandela Bay's water supply, the full dam level will provide the most relief to farmers in the Gamtoos Valley.

Nelson Mandela Bay is in fact mainly supplied by the Nooitgedacht water scheme, which brings water from the Gariep Dam (South Africa's largest dam) on the border of the Eastern Cape and the Free State via the Orange-Fish River tunnel.

Churchill Dam in the area is also currently overflowing, and both the Loerie and the Groendal dams are at over 100% capacity.