Last Updated on 11th February 2021 8:52 AM by AfriWX
Video Footage of Roodeplaat Dam
The RoodePlaat Dam
Source: Wikipedia – The Roodeplaat Dam is a concrete arch dam situated in Pretoria, South Africa on the Pienaars River (also known along parts of its length as the Moretele River and Moreleta Spruit, a tributary of the Crocodile River, which flows northwards into the Limpopo River.
The dam is a warm monomictic impoundment with stable thermal stratification during the summer.
The Roodeplaat Dam is 55 meters High and 351 meters Long. The Roodeplaat Dams has a Total capacity of 43 472 000 m3, A Catchment area of 684 km2 and a Surface area of 403 hectares.
Roodeplaat Dam was originally an irrigation dam, and soon became popular for recreation. Later it became an important source for Magalies Water, a state-owned water board that supplies potable water to a large area north of Pretoria. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high.
Roodeplaat Dam’s catchment contains a large part of the rapidly expanding municipality of Tshwane, which includes Pretoria.
Two sewage treatment works feed treated effluent to the dam, resulting in highly eutrophic conditions comparable with those experienced in Hartbeespoort Dam.
These conditions were already apparent in the mid 1970s and have not improved. Consequences of eutrophication include blooms of algae and cyanobacteria, and dense mats of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes).
The Department of Water Affairs’ Resource Quality Information Services directorate is housed on the banks of Roodeplaat Dam, near the wall.
This section is responsible for national monitoring of the surface water resources of South Africa.
Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve
Located about 22km north-east of Pretoria the Roodeplaat dam was originally called the ‘Pienaars Rivier Dam’ when it was constructed in 1956 to supply the surrounding landowners with water.
It has developed into an important water source for the Pretoria area and after commisioning the Roodeplaat water treatment plant in 2006, the dam augments the supply of water to the northern areas of Tshwane through the Montana, Wonderboom and Magaliesberg reservoirs and is used as a direct water supply to the Doornpoort area.
The Kudu, One of the many buck species at Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) no called the Department of Water & Sanitation (DWS) delegated the management of the Roodeplaat dam area to the division of Nature Conservation of the Transvaal Provincial Administration (TPA) in 1972. The Transvaal Provincial Administrations mandate was to develop the area as a nature reserve and outdoor recreation facility for the city population. The reserve was proclaimed in 1977.
Roodeplaat dam is a well-known destination for bird watching, game viewing and a range of water sports including freshwater angling.