SA’s most significant dam celebrates 100 years
Few people living in South Africa’s Gauteng, Free State, and North West provinces have seen or appreciated the significance of the Vaal Barrage, constructed between 1916 and 1922, and opened to much fanfare on 27 July 1923.
Next time you take a drive along Boundary Road between Parys and Vanderbijlpark, stop on the bridge as you cross the Vaal River, and have a good look at this historic engineering marvel as it silently goes about its business, just as it has done for the last 100 years.
A vital water source
On completion, the dam wall created the Vaal Barrage Reservoir, which includes the expansive Loch Vaal and the 70km of river stretching upstream towards the Vaal Dam. It was built to supply potable water to the rapidly growing and very thirsty city of Johannesburg with its extensive gold mining industry. Upon the foundations of this industry, and the communities that formed around it at the turn of the twentieth century, South Africa was established as an economic powerhouse at the southern tip of Africa.
The water scheme that gave birth to the Vaal Barrage and its Reservoir was a proudly South African development. In many respects, it brought about a tumultuous change in the environment along the Vaal River between the Barrage and Vereeniging in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Prof. Johan Tempelhoff writes: “Without this source, the development of the Witwatersrand and the economic progress of South Africa would have taken longer to materialise. The growth of the Rand created a demand for industrial support in the form of water, coal, and electricity. The Vaal River… played a crucial role in satisfying the need… for the future Vaal Triangle the river would become the silent hard-working witness to rapid industrialisation.”
Without the Vaal Barrage, and the Vaal Barrage Reservoir’s supply of clean water to Johannesburg and surrounding areas at this critical time in South Africa’s development, the story of our country might have been very different.
From water supply to a leisure and tourism hotspot
On 27 July 2023, the Vaal Barrage celebrated 100 years of service to our region and to our country.
Today, the Barrage and the Reservoir that it creates no longer provide clean potable water to citizens and industry. This role has been taken over by the Vaal Dam and, amongst others, the remarkable
Lesotho Highlands Water Project which feeds into it. However, the Barrage plays a vital role in maintaining ideal water levels on the upstream and downstream stretches of the Vaal River, especially during times of heavy rainfall, and more importantly, it creates a magnificent setting for a wide array of leisure and tourism activities, many of which have yet to be optimally exploited and enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
Farsighted engineers
In his paper published in History, May 2001, Prof Johann Tempelhoff, Director of School of Basic
Sciences in the Vaal Triangle Faculty of North West University writes: “In many respects, the Vaal Barrage was part of a novel and pioneering endeavour of farsighted engineers who were cognisant of the leisure and aesthetic value significance of the (Vaal) river. It was one of the most ambitious water projects of its kind in South Africa at the start of the twentieth century.”
The project was based on the latest technological developments in engineering. Before plans were drawn up for the Barrage, members of the Rand Water Board visited large dam projects in Egypt and Europe to become acquainted with the latest engineering technology. Leading British engineering firms were contracted to supply the necessary mechanical equipment to be used for the Barrage.
A rich history
Between 1916 and 1923 the scheme employed about 402 mostly African workers, some of whose relatives still stay in the adjacent Barrage Informal Settlement. The work was delayed by various setbacks, including the First World War and the “Spanish Flu” of 1918, which incapacitated up to 98% of the workers and led to the deaths of nearly 10% of the workforce.
The Vaal Barrage was finally completed in 1923. Spanning the Vaal River at Lindeques Falls over a distance of about 400 m. More than 275 000 m3 had been excavated in rock of which 43 000 m3 had been cast in concrete. By making use of the Duff Abrams method of steel-reinforced concrete the structure was strong and capable of withstanding all types of flooding conditions. It was constructed in a blend of art nouveau and classical styles. There were 36 sluice gates creating a storage capacity of nearly 70 000 million litres of water.
Crossing the river with a pont.
The Future
Many of today’s economic strategists still refer to the Vaal Triangle as “the sleeping giant”. They have long appreciated that the Vaal River is a vitally important natural endowment for the region, both for industrial and tourism purposes.
One exciting endeavour that focuses specifically on the Vaal Barrage and its surrounding communities and businesses, is the Barrage Community Development Forum (BCDF), which was established in 2021 as a local NGO. It aims to uplift and protect the area socially, economically, and environmentally by working at grass-roots level to alleviate poverty and improve infrastructure and services in the nearby Barrage Informal Settlement, while simultaneously developing the Vaal Barrage area into a prime cultural, historical and leisure tourism destination. Visit the BCDF website (www.bcdf.co.za) to find out more about their vision and plans for this historic site, as well as its surrounding area and communities.
Sources: Johann W.N. Tempelhoff, “Time and the river: observations on the Vaal River as source of water to the Witwatersrand 1903-24” Historia 46(1), May 2001, pp.247-70.
Lani Van Vuuren, “Vaal Barrage: Storing Water for a Thirsty City” The Water Wheel, January/February 2009.
