Instead of hope, top ranked dam instills fear in locals
"It's good news that the dam is over-flowing. In terms of the environment that's excellent. It takes about three years for a dam to overflow, but De Hoop took only one.
STEELPOORT – People who live downstream of the De Hoop Dam fear for their lives and call on Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) to intervene.
The plea was made following reports that the dam was overflowing after the recent rainfall in the area.
Speaking to Steelburger/Lydenburg News in reaction to the report, a resident of the nearby Kutollo Village, Mr Peter Malatji said people in the area feared that the dam would overflow into their villages.
According to Malatji, the dam wall had cracks in it.
“The dam is full and overflowing, we are in danger here, someone must come to our rescue,” he pleaded.
Malatji said they had water problems in their village. They thought the dam was going to help with the crisis but it was only a tourist attraction.
Spokesman for SDM, Mr Willy Mosoma, said there was no need to panic.
“It’s good news that the dam is over-flowing. In terms of the environment that’s excellent. It takes about three years for a dam to overflow, but De Hoop took only one.
“The only worrying factor is that the water now overflows into Tubatse River and we are scared that people who cross access bridges will be swept away, especially those of Kutollo, Maseven and Malekane villages. We plead with parents to ensure young ones don’t play next to these bridges,” he warned.
Mosoma refuted that the dam wall was cracked.
“De Hoop is one of the top-ranked dams in the world, it was built by experts, not amateurs. It’s not leaking, we are celebrating the overflowing. I admit that it is spilling over but we will monitor the situation.”
De Hoop Dam was officially opened by the president, Mr Jacob Zuma last March.
It was reported during the opening that the dam had two primary purposes.
The first was to supply water to the towns, industries and poorly serviced rural communities in Sekhukhune, Waterberg, and Capricorn districts of Limpopo. Secondly, it was supposed to supply the mines in order to help unlock vast mineral deposits, mainly
in the form of platinum-group metals found in the region.
Up until now, the dam has not provided a single drop to local communities.
According to residents, the Steel Bridge Water Treatment Plant, which was given the responsibility of supplying and purifying the water by Lepelle Nothern Water (LNW), is still busy with the installation of the pipes and mechanical work. LNW spokesman, Mr Simon Mpamonyane, said community protests had stalled their operations last year. The protesters demanded that locals be hired.
“Everything is on track now, we have also initiated a temporary supply of water to neighbouring communities,” he said.
Mpamonyane did not disclose when the dam would start supplying water to the locals.
