The Maguga Dam is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the

Komati River The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...

in Eswatini. It is high and is located about south of

Piggs Peak Piggs Peak is a town in northwestern Eswatini. It was founded around gold prospecting in 1884, but its main industry is now forestry. The Phophonyane Falls lie near the town. Piggs Peak Casino takes its name from the area. In 2001 the 115m hig ...

. It was built as a joint project of the governments of

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 ...

and Eswatini. As of 2005, it was the largest public works project ever undertaken by Eswatini. The dam was completed in mid-2001. In 1992, the two countries signed a treaty covering the "design, construction, operation and maintenance" of the Driekoppies and Maguga Dams. As the former benefited South Africa exclusively (though the resulting reservoir lay partially in Eswatini), South Africa bore the entire cost for that dam. As for the latter, Eswatini was responsible for about 40% of the cost. The dam's primary purpose is

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

(for water-intensive

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

, forestry and "about 1000 of Eswatini's small farmers") but a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 20 MW (generated from two units, each with a capacity of 9.9 MW) was to be completed in October 2006. Maguga is a "clay-core rockfill embankment dam". The dam embankment comprises approximately of clay, of granite rock and of filter material. It has an overall height of , a crest length of and a base width of . It has a capacity of and a surface area of . It has been designed to withstand a probable maximum flood of . There is a -long labyrinth

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

. Droughts have caused major problems. In 2007, the dam's capacity was down to 37%. In 2015, the water levels at the dam were at a record low, and on 20 February 2016, the water storage level was measured at 31%. The project displaced about 1000 people. The Maguga Dam Joint Venture received a commendation from the South African Association of Consulting Engineers in the category of Engineering Excellence with a value greater than R5 million for 2002. The dam also won the Concrete Society of Southern Africa's 2003 Fulton Award for Civil Engineering Structures.

References

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External links

Maguga Dam photo gallery
Dams in Eswatini Dams completed in 2001