A multi-purpose dam on the Koonap River near Adelaide, South Africa.

Arup was appointed by the Department of Water and Sanitation to investigate the feasibility of developing a multi-purpose dam at the Foxwood site on the Koonap River near Adelaide in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The project is being considered for implementation as a strategic initiative to mobilize the water resources in the Koonap River as a stimulus for socio-economic development in this rural, economically depressed region.

Key areas of the feasibility study:

• Review of Koonap River catchment hydrology including ecological water requirements in the river.

• Assessment of domestic, commercial and irrigation water requirements.

• Development of models for potential sustainable irrigation schemes.

• Dam type and option analysis leading to design of a composite earth embankment and gravity concrete dam.

• Economic impact assessment of the proposed dam construction and operation and options for potential irrigation schemes.

• Stakeholder engagement, public participation and environmental screening in support of EIA.

Development of the proposed Foxwood Dam would, in the first instance, provide additional, high assurance water supplies for domestic use in Adelaide. The effective development of a major storage dam at the Foxwood site would regulate the variable runoff in the Koonap River to the extent that, after full provision is made for maintaining the Ecological Water Requirements and for foreseeable domestic water requirements, a significant quantity of water would be made available at an appropriate level of assurance for irrigation development. It is this resource that would be mobilized, together with land and human resources in the region, to provide a stimulus for socio-economic development.

This vision is assessed in the context of agricultural development, land reform and rural development policies within the framework of the National Development Plan (NDP) of South Africa.