Kromme Dam (old Churchill Dam), is a multi-arch type dam located at the

Kromme River Krom River or Kromme River ( af, Krommerivier) is a river in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The river flows into the Indian Ocean through an estuary on the north side of St Francis Bay, west of Port Elizabeth. The Krom river flows in ...

(sometimes spelled Krom River), near

Kareedouw Kareedouw or Kareedowns is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre for the Kou-Kamma Local Municipality, Kou-Kamma Municipality in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Sarah Baartman District of ...

, Eastern Cape, in

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 was established in 1943 and its main purpose is for municipal and industrial usage.

Location

Kromme Dam lies east-southeast of Kareedouw, south of the path of the

Langkloof The Langkloof is a 160 km long valley in South Africa, lying between Herold, a small village northeast of George, and The Heights - just beyond Twee Riviere. History The kloof was given its name by Isaq Schrijver in 1689, and more thorough ...

Valley ( R62 road), and on the northern slopes of the Kareedouw Mountains. The dam is 100 km west of

Gqeberha Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

, at 34° 00' S, 24° 29' E.

Dimension

The dam has a capacity of 35 million m³, is 43 m high, and has a maximum reservoir area of 2,492 km² and a 12-m lock. Gravity-based pipelines bring the water to the city.

History

Port Elizabeth grew rapidly in the 1930s. George Begg, the City Engineer, suggested building a dam on the Krom, the closest river with plentiful and good-quality water. Although construction began in 1936, it would not be finished until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1942, it was decided to name the dam after Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

in honor of his prominent role in that war. Gen.

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

dedicated it in 1948.

Spoorbek

As the dam filled, the waters covered Hendrik Spoorbek's farm (known as Spoorbek's Land).

Floods

The Churchill Dam and the

Impofu Dam Impofu Dam is a combined rock-fill/earth-fill type dam located on the Kromme River, near Humansdorp, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1983 and its primary purpose is to serve for municipal and industrial use. The hazard potential ...

help control periodic floods of the Krom River. These have historically damaged fields and building on the banks and near the mouth of the river.

Bibliography

* Logie, Bartle (1999). ''Governor's travels. A journey along the Kouga/Tsitsikamma coast''. Hunters Retreat: Bluecliff. * krommerivier.wordpress.com
www.dwa.gov.za

References

from the

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (South Africa) 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 Wa ...

Dams in South Africa Dams completed in 1943 {{SouthAfrica-dam-stub