Dam level stable as wall is being raised
Project expected to take two years.
The raising of the Hazelmere Dam’s wall has begun.
The Courier visited the dam wall last Thursday, and was greeted by the welcome sound of humming machinery at work.
Department of water and sanitation (DWA) spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau said the R498 million project will take about two years to complete and is expected to be done by June 2017. The current wall will be raised by seven metres, increasing the dam’s capacity from 23.9 million cubic metres to 43.7 million cubic metres.
Group 5 Construction was awarded the tender for the DWA project and Ingeprop South Africa (Pty) Ltd are the consulting engineers and project managers.
The raising of the wall will also see a raising in the dam’s capacity water line and Ratau said they have identified 15 families that will be relocated to higher ground.
Further good news is that the emergency pipeline from the Tongaat River seems to be doing its intended job as the dam has been stable at 30 percent since the July rains. There is currently enough water in the furrow from which the pipeline draws water because the Dudley Pringle Dam filled up in July and has since been adding water to the furrow.
The Hazelmere Dam is believed to have enough water to see the Dolphin Coast through December and water authorities are holding their breath for El Niño to pack its bags and spring rains to come.
