The Kouga Dam is an
arch dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthe ...
on the
Kouga River
The Kouga River originates near Uniondale, Eastern Cape, South Africa, and flows eastward, where it joins the Groot River to form the Gamtoos just past the Kouga Dam. Its main tributary is the Baviaanskloof River, which joins its left bank b ...
about west of
Patensie in
Kouga Local Municipality
The Kouga Local Municipality is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, approximately 80 km west of Port Elizabeth, and forms part of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality. Its territory includes the coastal zone between the Van Sta ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. It supplies irrigation water to the Kouga and Gamtoos valleys as well as drinking water to the
Port Elizabeth metropolitan area via the Loerie Balancing Dam. It was constructed between 1957 and 1969.
The dam can be accessed by following the
R330 and then the
R331 from the
N2 at
Humansdorp
Humansdorp is a small town and surrounding district in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with a population of around 29,000 during the census of 2011. It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Sarah Baartman District.
The town is th ...
. All but the last is tarred road and there is a short tunnel just before the dam wall.
It was named the ''Paul Sauer Dam'' after
Paul Sauer
Paul Oliver Sauer ( 1 January 1898, Wynberg, Cape Town - 11 January 1976, Stellenbosch) was a South African Cabinet Minister and lifelong member of the National Party.
Background
Sauer was born in Wynberg near Cape Town in 1898 as the third ...
, but was renamed in 1995.
Kouga Dam Power Station
There are three 1200 kVA hydroelectric turbines at the base of the dam, but they are currently not in use.
See also
*
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)
...
*
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 ...
*
South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
References
External links
South African Water Research Commission
Dams completed in 1969
Buildings and structures in the Eastern Cape
Kouga Local Municipality
Dams in South Africa
Arch dams
1969 establishments in South Africa
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