Vaal Dam(©UNOPS/Cmor) NAMIBIA Orange-Senqu SOUTH AFRICA River Basin BOTSWANA Vaal Dam LESOTHO Vaal Dam

Home , Rand Water, Sasol, Vaal Barrage, Vaal Dam, Vaal River, Vereeniging

South Africa COORDINATES (degrees, minutes,seconds) From: The Orange–Senqu River BasinInfrastructure Catalogue,ORASECOM Report 001/2013 Rand Water Board andhastwomajorofftakes majorwatersupplier isthe from V the mainsourceIt isthe Gautengeconomic ofwater tothe hub. Purpose of level 1,462.9 m. The reservoir ofthe bottom storage isat1,444.5 m. dead a and 1,484.6 m of level supply full a has dam The m. 3.05 further a by 1985 in and embankment of 910 m closes off a saddle on the right flank. Inthe early fifties the dam wall was raised by 6.1 m rightbankwhichis1,970mlongandconnectson the directly concrete the with Asecondary wall. earth T Description Africa. South V Location V and from Lethabo the Intake whileV Station P Johannesburg and of TheZuikerboschupgraded.Water part be eastern to Purification the mainly supplies Works T pipeline. he V retoria V whilethe iddle V Middle catchmentC12Land83Minthe aal Damislocatedinquaternary ereeniging downstream V ofthe 26° 53’00”S LATITUDE aal Damisacomposite damconsisting ofa714-m-longconcrete gravityembankment andamainearth wall here isanabstraction V point atthe V aal Dam ereeniging works greater supplies Johannesburg V andthe L 28° 07’00”E ONGITUDE aal Dam.Z ereeniging P uikerbosch P aal Barrage butithasnotbeeninuseforabout20yearsandneeds tation receivesumping Station waterfrom Lethabo– the V tation receivesumping Station watervia a canalfrom V ereeniging–Sasol area. aal Water ManagementArea in aal RiveratZ uikerbosch and ereeniging aal Dam Vaal Dam(©UNOPS/CMor) NAMIBIA Orange-Senqu SOUTH AFRICA River Basin BOTSWANA Vaal Dam LESOTHO Vaal Dam

The Rand Water system is very complex and extensive and has been summarised Physical Information below as five main routes: Vereeniging Pump Station to Heilbron (pumping main) supplying areas Quaternary FSC* 2 Wall height Wall length Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg and Heilbron. Dam name River catchment (million m3) FSA (km ) Owner DWA code (m) (m) Vereeniging and Zuikerbosch pump stations to Zwartkoppies and Zuurbekom pump stations to Libanon and Blyvooruitzicht reservoirs to Khutsong (gravity C12L and Vaal Vaal 2,609.80 322.75 DWA C1R001 63 2,783 main). Included are boreholes at Zuurbekom, which are also managed by Rand C83M Water. Supplies areas of southern Johannesburg, Soweto, the Westonaria and * Live full supply capacity (SANCOLD, 2009) Carletonville magisterial districts and Khutsong. Vereeniging and Zuikerbosch pump stations to Zwartkoppies Pump Station through Pretoria to the Hartebeespoort area and Mamelodi (gravity main). Demands/abstractions (million m3/a) 1:50 yield (million Maximum spillway Supplies areas in the Alberton, Germiston, Kyalami and Pretoria metropolitan Year of completion m3/a) capacity (m3/s) districts, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Soshanguve and the Hartebeespoort area. Domestic Irrigation Other Vereeniging and Zuikerbosch pump stations to Zwartkoppies and Bloemendal 1936 852 † Unknown Unknown 831 ‡ 25,000 pump stations to Wildebeesfontein (gravity main). Supplies areas in the Alberton, Germiston, Boksburg, Benoni, Brakpan, Springs, Nigel and Heidelberg † DWA, Directorate of Hydrological Services correspondence, 2012 ‡ DWA, 2002a metropolitan districts and to Devon, Leandra and Evander. Vereeniging and Zuikerbosch pump stations to Zwartkoppies to Rustenburg (gravity main). Supplies areas of Greater Johannesburg and the Randfontein, Krugersdorp and Magaliesburg metropolitan districts and Rustenburg. Vaal Dam

ts ar rts t-H Ha Area–Capacity Relationship roo n- Loop i G e Vaal Kl VEREENINGING POTCHEFSTROOM KLERKSDORP Vaal Grootdraai 3 2 Dam l Dam va Elevation (m) Storage (million m ) Surface area (km ) ter Witbank Yster K a Harts r W om elm Vaal bo og Klip 1,485 2,609.80 322.75 Vaal B M a a

m k w

b H Wilge a

o e

e u

s s n Renoster i e ing 1,484 2,280.82 298.35 Vals Krom KROONSTAD RSA Hol NEWCASTLE i Bloemhof e B 1,483 1,994.65 274.71 (Free State) Vals l u f V f a s l o Dam g Blom r

WELKOM b

e i 1,482 1,733.12 249.37 L Sa nd RSA D Allemanskraal o BETHLEHEM Vet r ing Dam HARRISMITH 1,481 1,496.83 224.41 Sterkfontein (KwaZulu- Dam B Erfenis

Taaibos o Natal) s Sand Sundays s Dam Laai i PHUTHADITJABA e Klein-vet 1,480 1,284.90 200.98 Caledon G Krugersdrift ro Doring o Tugela t-v Dam e H Khubelu Tugela t l s ot an Modder se kr 1,479 1,095.93 178.62 ou Bl Senqunyana Malibamatso eu BLOEMFONTEIN Le 1,475 559.66 91.50 Rustfontein Katse Dam Dam Tierpoort M MASERU o LESOTHO d

Dam e

r n do 1,471 339.27 56.38 Riet Fourie Cale Mohale Mkom azi

Makhaleng Dam 1,456 6.38 2.61 Dam network

1,445 0.00 0.00

Operating Rule The Vaal Dam, along with Grootdraai Dam, the Vaal Barrage, Bloemhof Dam (all on when the Vaal Dam is at 15% storage or less, Sterkfontein will begin to support the Vaal River) and Sterkfontein Dam (on the Wilge River, a tributary of the Vaal River) it. Abstractions at Sedibeng and Midvaal make use of local runoff and spills from form part of the Bloemhof Sub-system, which is part of the greater Integrated Vaal upstream dams. When this is not adequate, the Vaal Dam supports the abstractions. River System. Woodstock Dam and the Driel Barrage (situated in the Thukela River The Vaal Dam will only begin to support Bloemhof Dam when Bloemhof Dam reaches catchment), form the Thukela Transfer Scheme into the Vaal catchment. its minimum operating level (1,213.6 m). The large scheme is operated as follows: The Thukela system supports Sterkfontein The Vaal catchment also receives water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Dam until the dam is full. Grootdraai Dam does not support the Vaal Dam, but in which 777 million m3/a is released from Katse Dam in Lesotho, to the Vaal Dam.