Later this month the development plans for the Garden Route Dam Capacity Increase project will begin. This is after the George Municipality issued a call for tenders late last week. On the 9th next month the advertised tender for the newly designed project will close. The project’s re-visitation is in favor of a more viable solution.

To raise the Garden Route Dam spillway to 3m in height in 2009, George Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa applied for Environmental Authorization. At the point of overflow

they would also install a Fuse Gate System (FGS) 

Finally, the activity got a go-ahead in March three years later in 2012. On the other hand, the alternative issued at the time could not come into incorporation. This is because the Water Affairs permit was issued in December 2014.

The newly designed plan

According to the George Municipality, the construction of a side-channel will help to extend the flood overflow length. This is while minimizing any future damages risks caused by higher order floods. The risks are inclusive of those with 1:200 year return periods.

This design requires a 2.5m and 1.8m raising of the dam wall overflow and the crest respectively. The height will help provide sufficient freeboard according to the department. It will also prevent overtopping of the embankment by wave action. The projected increase to the dam capacity is 25% while the yield increase to the George water supply system would be in the region of 11%.

Posted on : 15 Sep,2017