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The As River is a tributary of the
The As River is one of the discharge points for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. As of 2004, 18 cubic meters of water was released per second, and the river's flow is consequently not seasonally variable.
The Stortemelk Dam, situated downstream of the outfall, was one measure taken by the then
Liebenbergsvlei River
The Liebenbergsvlei River is a tributary of the Wilge River, flowing in the Free State province of South Africa.
Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Liebenbergsvlei is a conduit for water delivered by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The w ...
in the eastern Free State, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. Since 1968 it is impounded by the Sol Plaatje Dam (formerly: Saulspoort Dam) at its confluence with the latter river, just east of Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
. Its origin is some 35 km southeast of Bethlehem, on the northern slopes of the Rooiberge, near Clarens. With the opening of the northern delivery tunnel of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is an ongoing water supply project with a hydropower component, developed in partnership between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa. It comprises a system of several large dams and tunnels thr ...
in 1998, the once tiny stream was transformed to a strong-flowing river.
Water delivery
The As River is one of the discharge points for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. As of 2004, 18 cubic meters of water was released per second, and the river's flow is consequently not seasonally variable.
The Stortemelk Dam, situated downstream of the outfall, was one measure taken by the then Department of Water Affairs
The Department of Water and Sanitation is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa.
In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of W ...
, to stabilize water flow and limit erosion. By 2004, four weirs had been built.
Power generation
Two privately owned hydro powered power plants, the Sol Plaatje and Merino, were commissioned in 2009 and 2012 respectively, and supply a total of 7 MW to the power grid. The automated and low maintenance Stortemelk Hydropower Project at the Botterkloof Dam is set to contribute a further 4.4 MW to the power grid, starting July 2016.Ecological impact
The opening of the northern delivery tunnel in 1998 caused physical and chemical changes to the river, as water volumes increased and water temperature decreased, scouring of the river channel occurred, and much silt was deposited in Saulspoort Dam. Populations of key indicator species like smallmouth andlargemouth yellowfish
The largemouth yellowfish or Vaal-Orange largemouth yellowfish (''Labeobarbus kimberleyensis'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. This large freshwater barb is found in southern Africa.Impson & Swarz (2007)
It has long been ...
decreased, and seven of the river's nine fish species disappeared from the outfall's vicinity. Recovery of invertebrates was only noticeable some kilometers downstream, and the weirs proved ineffective when water is released in high volumes. Though much habitat is still available, the river's population by aquatic organisms is limited by water turbidity, low water temperature and its erosion potential.
Etymology
The name is often mistranslated fromAfrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
to English as "Ash River". The name, however, refers to a wagon
A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
axle which, according to legend, broke near the river (the Afrikaans word for an axle being “as”); therefore a correct translation would be "Axle River", and not “Ash River".
See also
*List of rivers of South Africa
This is a list of rivers in South Africa.
It is quite common to find the Afrikaans word ''-rivier'' as part of the name. Another common suffix is "''-kamma''", from the Khoisan term for "river"
Meiring, Barbara"South African Toponymic Guideline ...
* List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa
The following is a partial list of dams in South Africa. __NOTOC__
In South African English (as well as Afrikaans), a dam refers to both the wall as well as the reservoir or lake that builds up as a consequence.
List of dams (reservoirs)
...
References
{{reflist Rivers of the Free State (province)