The Naute 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 ...

outside of

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History Befo ...

in the

ǁKaras Region The ǁKaras Region (pronounced , with a lateral click) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain rang ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. It was built by

Concor Concor Holdings (Proprietary) Limited. is a South African construction and mining services company. It is active throughout Southern Africa, involved in mining, civil engineering, building and road projects. Concor returned as an independent br ...

between 1970 and 1972 and was officially commissioned in September 1972. It is the third largest dam in Namibia after

Hardap Dam Hardap Dam is a dam close to Mariental in the Hardap Region of central Namibia. Created in 1963 while Namibia was under South African occupation, Hardap Dam is the largest dam in the country. The reservoir dams the Fish River and is home to num ...

to Naute's north and holds up to 69 million cubic metres of water. The dam's source is the Löwen River, a tributary of the Fish River.

Business

Naute Dam supplies potable water to Keetmanshoop and some surrounding farms but is predominantly used for irrigation. It has been consistently underutilised and is one of few dams in Namibia that are often filled to capacity. The ''Naute Aqua Fish Farms Project'', a government-owned

fish farm upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

, is based at the dam. ''Naute Fruit Farm'' is also located at the Naute Dam. The farm primarily grows dates for export to Europe. In 2009, the farm was projected to export 180 tonnes of dates, up from 120 the year before. As of March 2009, the farm employed 76 full-time employees and 250 seasonal workers.Good date harvest in South
The Namibian, 18 March 2009

Pictures

File:Naute-Damm Namibia anagoria.JPG, Naute Dam File:Naute Damm Namibia anagoria.JPG, Naute Dam File:Naute-Damm-Stausee Namibia anagoria.JPG, Reservoir of the Naute Dam File:2011-02-07 IMG 08.JPG, Plantage of date palms next to the Naute Dam

References

Dams in Namibia Keetmanshoop Dams completed in 1972 1972 establishments in South West Africa Buildings and structures in ǁKaras Region {{Africa-dam-stub