Bospoort Dam is dam on the Hex River, near Rustenburg, North West, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It was established in 1933. It was originally the main water supply for the town of Rustenburg. In the sixties it was no longer used for drinking water

Drinking water

Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...

 due to contamination from Platinum and Chrome mines in the region. Due to water shortages in the nineties it was again used as the main water source for the Boitekong and surrounding townships. The fish in the dam are not fit for human consumption. The water in the dam in so corrosive that the steel sluices had to be replaced by a major rebuilding project in 2009 and 2010 for fear of the dam wall collapsing in flood. The new dam structure was built from corrosion resistant compounds A map of the dam and surrounding area can be seen here