Hartbeespoort Dam
Encyclopedia
Hartbeespoort Dam also known as Harties (officially the Hartbeespoort Dam Reservoir) is a dam
situated in the North West Province of South Africa
. It lies in a valley
to the south of the Magaliesberg
mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 kilometres west of Pretoria
. The name of the dam means "pass of the hartbees
" (a species
of antelope
) in Afrikaans. The dam was originally designed for irrigation
which is currently its primary use.
The town of Hartbeespoort is situated close to the dam wall and the villages of Kosmos
, Melodie, Ifafi and Meerhof can be found alongside its banks. Hartbeespoort was previously known as Schoemansville, after General Hendrik Schoeman.
The dam was built on the farm Hartebeestpoort, once owned by the Boer General Hendrik Schoeman (1840–1901). The farm and adjacent land was acquired by the State, mainly through the facilitation of his son, Johan Schoeman (1887–1967), in about 1912. The dam was completed in 1923. Hartbeespoort Dam first overflowed the dam wall in March 1925.
The completion of the dam made the agricultural land north of the Magaliesberg much more valuable, especially land close to canals and the Krokodil River. As a result, various farms of the Bakwena people of the Tswana ethnic group who lived in the area for many generations were appropriated or lost by various means and white farmers were settled in their place.
The dam is 149.5 metres (163.5 yd) long and 59.4 metres (194.9 ft) high and is built across a gorge cutting through the Magaliesberg. The reservoir is fed by the waters of the Crocodile River
and Magalies River and covers approximately 18.83 square kilometre, with a mean depth of 9.6 metres (31.5 ft) and maximum depth of 45.1 metres (148 ft). It has a surface area of 20 square kilometre, and its normal range of annual water level fluctuation is 0.8 metres (2.6 ft). The mixing type of the reservoir is monomictic
.
A tarmac
road skirts the water's edge on the north side; along its route it passes through a 56.6 m long tunnel and also crosses the dam.
Hartbeespoort Dam supplies irrigation water through a 544 kilometres (338 mi) long network of canal
s to 159.76 square kilometre of farmland on which tobacco
, wheat
, lucerne
, fruit
and flower
s are produced.
Hartbeespoort has become a very popular holiday and weekend resort for the inhabitants of Johannesburg
and Pretoria
; it is the principal water recreation area of northern Gauteng
and many types of water sports are practised on the dam. The Transvaal Yacht Club has been operating at the dam since its construction in 1923.
NSRI Station 25, located at the dam, is one of only three National Sea Rescue Institution
inland stations and provide a water rescue service at the dam.
Hartbeespoort Dam has been renowned for its poor water quality since the mid twentieth century
.
The Dam suffers severe eutrophication
, resulting from high concentrations of phosphates and nitrates in the Crocodile River
, the major inflow. The primary pollution sources are industrial and domestic effluent from Gauteng
.
The extreme level of eutrophication is evident in the excessive growth of microscopic algae
and cyanobacteria, and macrophytes such as water hyacinth
(Eichhornia crassipes)
.
The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
launched the Harties metsi a me (Harties, My Water) programme to try to find solutions to the water quality problems.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
situated in the North West Province of 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 lies in a valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
to the south of the Magaliesberg
Magaliesberg
The Magaliesberg is a mountain range extending from Pretoria in the north of the Gauteng Province to a point south of Pilanesberg, in the North West Province, South Africa...
mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 kilometres west of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. The name of the dam means "pass of the hartbees
Hartebeest
The hartebeest is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus....
" (a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
) in Afrikaans. The dam was originally designed for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
which is currently its primary use.
The town of Hartbeespoort is situated close to the dam wall and the villages of Kosmos
Kosmos, North West
Kosmos is a village in the North West Province of South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam.-History:The first homes were built in the 1920s shortly after the Dam was constructed. It is thought that the name derives from the Kosmos which grows wild in great drifts in many...
, Melodie, Ifafi and Meerhof can be found alongside its banks. Hartbeespoort was previously known as Schoemansville, after General Hendrik Schoeman.
History
The completion of the dam made the agricultural land north of the Magaliesberg much more valuable, especially land close to canals and the Krokodil River. As a result, various farms of the Bakwena people of the Tswana ethnic group who lived in the area for many generations were appropriated or lost by various means and white farmers were settled in their place.
Construction
Crocodile River (West)
Crocodile River , has its source in the Witwatersrand mountain range, originates in Constantia Kloof, Roodepoort, Gauteng province, South Africa. The first dam it encounters is a private dam known as the Heia Safari Ranch Dam just west of the Lanseria Airport. Just north of this airport the Jukskei...
and Magalies River and covers approximately 18.83 square kilometre, with a mean depth of 9.6 metres (31.5 ft) and maximum depth of 45.1 metres (148 ft). It has a surface area of 20 square kilometre, and its normal range of annual water level fluctuation is 0.8 metres (2.6 ft). The mixing type of the reservoir is monomictic
Monomictic
Monomictic lakes are holomictic lakes that mix from top to bottom during one mixing period each year. Monomictic lakes may be subdivided into Cold and Warm types.-Cold monomictic lakes:...
.
A tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
road skirts the water's edge on the north side; along its route it passes through a 56.6 m long tunnel and also crosses the dam.
Use
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s to 159.76 square kilometre of farmland on which tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, lucerne
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced.
Hartbeespoort has become a very popular holiday and weekend resort for the inhabitants of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
; it is the principal water recreation area of northern Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
and many types of water sports are practised on the dam. The Transvaal Yacht Club has been operating at the dam since its construction in 1923.
NSRI Station 25, located at the dam, is one of only three National Sea Rescue Institution
National Sea Rescue Institution
The National Sea Rescue Institute is a voluntary non-profit organization in South Africa tasked with saving lives at sea. It consists of 32 coastal stations and 3 inland stations serviced by 980 volunteers equipped with 92 rescue craft and 27 vehicles...
inland stations and provide a water rescue service at the dam.
Water quality
.
The Dam suffers severe eutrophication
Eutrophication
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
, resulting from high concentrations of phosphates and nitrates in the Crocodile River
Crocodile River (West)
Crocodile River , has its source in the Witwatersrand mountain range, originates in Constantia Kloof, Roodepoort, Gauteng province, South Africa. The first dam it encounters is a private dam known as the Heia Safari Ranch Dam just west of the Lanseria Airport. Just north of this airport the Jukskei...
, the major inflow. The primary pollution sources are industrial and domestic effluent from Gauteng
.
The extreme level of eutrophication is evident in the excessive growth of microscopic algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
and cyanobacteria, and macrophytes such as water hyacinth
Water hyacinth
The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in...
(Eichhornia crassipes)
.
The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
The Department of Water Affairs is one of the departments of the South African government. In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry was divided, with the forestry responsibility being transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and...
launched the Harties metsi a me (Harties, My Water) programme to try to find solutions to the water quality problems.
External links
- Hartbeespoort Dam page at the South African Department of Water Affairs and ForestrySouth African Department of Water Affairs and ForestryThe Department of Water Affairs is one of the departments of the South African government. In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry was divided, with the forestry responsibility being transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and...