Tugela-Vaal

Although not an earth or rock fill dam, the design of Spioenkop Dam on the Tugela was also under my control. I was also entrusted with the task of the provisional design of the Java Dam on the Elands River, a tributary of the Wilge River, for use in a White Paper for the proposed Tugela-Vaal Project. The intention was to lay a pipe line, equipped with pumping stations, from Spioenkop Dam all the way over the Drakensberg ending in the Java Dam, where the water would be stored for release to the Vaal Dam in times of drought. When the contents of the draft White Paper became known at the Department of Bantu Administration and Development, they protested that the dam would submerge much of the arable land in the then proposed Qua-Qua Homeland. Consequently, we had to urgently look for an alternative storage site for the pumped water from the Tugela. I located a suitable site at Sterkfontein on the Nuwejaarspruit, close to the watershed between Vaal and Tugela. Initially, it was not believed that so much storage (more than that of the Vaal Dam), could be located there, but the 1:50 000 maps and subsequent surveys provided proof. In the process, I took a good look at the original proposal which was embodied in a White Paper and came to the conclusion that substantial capital and running cost savings could be made. That was the origin of the Tugela-Vaal Project as it now exists. Instead of pumping from Spioenkop, I proposed a new storage dam at Woodstock, far higher-up the river, as well as a weir and pumping station at Driel, capturing the Mjambonja tributary lower down. Spioenkop could then be used to regulate the flow of the Tugela for use lower down. Instead of a pipeline, I proposed a canal, which could easily be increased in capacity later. The canal was to end at a pumping station fore bay at Jagersrust from where the water would be lifted via a rising main over the Drakensberg. From there via a further canal and short tunnel into Sterkfontein. The new proposal would also obviate a long tunnel between the valley of the Nuwejaarspruit and the Elands River. Some of the Tugela water was to be diverted higher up and run by gravity directly to the Jagersrust fore bay. In May 70, I handed my report about the proposal to Dawid Keyser, then the Chief Engineer (Planning). A few days later, I heard from Bob Pullen, who worked under him, that Dawid had not transmitted that report to higher authority. My proposal was ultimately accepted and incorporated into a new White Paper. I was then put in charge of the design of the Sterkfontein Dam, at the time the highest and largest earth-fill dam in the country. I also became involved in the design of the rest of the Tugela-Vaal Project, except the pumping stations, which were designed by the Rand Water Board – I remember David Stephenson, Jimmy Gardner and Sid Smith. The Sterkfontein site is so close to the Tugela/Vaal watershed that its catchment area is so small that the reservoir can easily absorb a major flood and consequently, no spillway is needed. The outlet works are housed in a conduit and are of sufficient capacity to meet the total demand on the Vaal River in case of a drought emptying the latter’s dams. Two steel sliding gates in the conduit control the flow. These gates were hydraulically tested at the laboratory in Overmatch on the Walcheren, of the Technical University of Munich under the leadership of Professor Hartung. I had the privilege to visit the laboratory during the tests. Jost Knaus was in charge of the model testing. This visit took place in 1971, when I was invited by the French Government to attend a two months “Stage de Recycle”, i.e. a refresher course for alumni of the previous “Stages”. I was asked by Water Affairs to recruit some engineers while I was in Europe – interviews were arranged by the embassies in London, Brussels and The Hague. During these two months in France, I was exposed to pumped-storage projects under construction such as the one at Ervin, in the Ardennes. I also attended a lecture by Henri Vidal, the inventor of “Terre Ramee” – Reinforced Earth. I immediately saw the great future of this invention. When Vidal heard that I came from South Africa, he asked me whether I was prepared to represent his firm there and launch the product. I said that I would try, but that I could only spend limited time on that. Coincidentally, my wealthy brother-in–law also happened to be in Paris. I asked him whether he was prepared to invest some money, so that I could work full-time on the launch, but he was not interested – but what an opportunity to make lots more money he missed! I asked David Richie, who was a representative of Expedite, selling water stops to the Department, whether he could introduce Reinforced Earth to some of his clients as my partner. He agreed, and we managed to get a contract for a RE wall in George’s Valley near Tzaneen. Because we were both busy with our work, progress was slow. At some stage, Vidal visited me in the company of Dixon, representing a large contractor, and told me that, because of the slow progress, he had decided to give the agency to the contractor. David and I were well compensated for the contract already obtained. In retrospect, I am pleased with the turn of events, because I subsequently had the most satisfying career in the water field.