Raising of Hazelmere Dam Wall on schedule

The raising of the Hazelmere Dam wall is reportedly progressing well within schedule and is expected to be completed in June 2017.

“The raising of the wall is part of an intervention by the Department of Water and Sanitation after commissioning a feasibility study which indicated that the current yield’s insufficiency to meet the growing demands of supply in the North Coast region,” said Department of Water and Sanitation‘s Mbali Mahaye.

Hazelmere Dam, located on the Mdloti River, was constructed as a concrete gravity dam from 1975 to 1976.

Its purpose was to supplement water supply to the rapidly increasing urban and industrial users at the time.

The project to raise the Hazelmere Dam wall includes the installation of gates on the dam’s spillway and the stabilisation of the wall.

“Hazelmere Dam in its raised state will be of great importance to the province as it forms the major water supply of the existing two systems in the area.

“The wall will be increased by seven metres to raise capacity from 23.9 million cubic metres to 43.7 million cubic metres.”

This will also increase water availability to the North Coast by some 10 million m3 /a.

The supply area of the Hazelmere Dam extends from KwaDukuza in the north, and Groutville, Blythedale, Ballito and Verulam to the south.

The system’s water is mainly used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes, the latter mainly for the irrigation of sugar cane farming.

The dam basin lies in a peri-rural area directly impacting the communities of Verulam and Tongaat.

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