Hazelmere Dam wall construction falls behind

Unexpected challenges have set back the raising of the Hazelmere Dam wall by six months, the department of water and sanitation (DWS) reported.

Initially scheduled for completion in June 2017, the end date has been pushed out to December.

“There have been problems with rock anchors as well as the grouting,” said the department’s Mahaye Mbalenhle.

The raising of the Hazelmere Dam wall is part of an intervention developed by the DWS after it commissioned a feasibility study which indicated the current yield’s insufficiency to meet the growing demands of supply in the North Coast region.

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

The dam will be increased by seven metres to raise capacity from about 17.7 million m³ to 37 million m³ .

This will increase capacity by approximately 109% (more than double the previous capacity).

The raising of the wall will also increase water availability to the North Coast Region of KZN by some 10 million m³ per annum.

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

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

The supply area of the dam extends from KwaDukuza (Stanger) in the north, 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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