Roodeplaat Dam

Roodeplaat Dam is a concrete arch dam situated in South Africa on the Pienaars River (also known along parts of its length as the Moretele River and Moreleta Spruit[1]), a tributary of the Crocodile River (Limpopo), which flows northwards into the Limpopo River. The dam is a warm monomictic impoundment with stable thermal stratification during the summer.[2]

Roodeplaat Dam
Roodeplaat Dam wall in 2005, during an upgrade to the offtake structure.
Location of Roodeplaat Dam in South Africa
Official nameRoodeplaat Dam
CountrySouth Africa
LocationNear Pretoria, Gauteng
Coordinates25.62083°S 28.37138°E / -25.62083; 28.37138
PurposeIrrigation
Construction began1955
Opening date1959
Owner(s)Department of Water Affairs
Dam and spillways
Type of damArch dam
ImpoundsPienaars River
Height55 m
Length351 m
Reservoir
CreatesRoodeplaat Dam Reservoir
Total capacity43 472 000 m3
Catchment area684 km2
Surface area403 ha

Use

Roodeplaat Dam was originally an irrigation dam, and soon became popular for recreation. Later it became an important source for Magalies Water, a state-owned water board that supplies potable water to a large area north of Pretoria.[3] The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high.[4] [5]

Water quality

Roodeplaat Dam's catchment contains a large part of the rapidly expanding : municipality of Tshwane, which includes Pretoria. Two sewage treatment works feed treated effluent to the dam, resulting in highly eutrophic conditions comparable with those experienced in Hartbeespoort Dam. These conditions were already apparent in the mid 1970s[2] and have not improved.[6] Consequences of eutrophication include blooms of algae and cyanobacteria, and dense mats of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes).

The Department of Water Affairs' Resource Quality Information Services directorate is housed on the banks of Roodeplaat Dam, near the wall.[7] This section is responsible for national monitoring of the surface water resources of South Africa.

See also
  • List of dams and reservoirs in South Africa

References
  1. "Adopt Moreletaspruit". http://www.riv.co.za/ms/. Adopt Moreletaspruit forum. 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-16. External link in |website= (help)
  2. Walmsley RD, Toerien DF, Steyn DJ. An Introduction to the Limnology of Roodeplaat Dam. Journal of the Limnological Society of South Africa. 1978;4(1):35-52.
  3. Roodeplaat Dam, Pienaars River Government Water Scheme, Department of Water Affairs, 1989, Pretoria. 4pp.
  4. DWA (2014). "Legend: List of dams registered in terms of dam safety legislation" (PDF). http://www.dwa.gov.za/. Department of Water Affairs. Retrieved 2014-05-12. External link in |website= (help)
  5. DWA (2014). "Spreadsheet: List of dams registered in terms of dam safety legislation". http://www.dwa.gov.za/. Department of Water Affairs. Retrieved 2014-05-12. External link in |website= (help)
  6. Van Ginkel CE, Silberbauer MJ. Temporal trends in total phosphorus, temperature, oxygen, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton populations in Hartbeespoort Dam and Roodeplaat Dam, South Africa, between 1980 and 2000. African Journal of Aquatic Science 32. 2007;1:63-70. Online: Van Ginkel, Carin (2019-03-03). "Kryptic Environment". Kryptic Environment. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  7. https://www.dwa.gov.za/iwqs/
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