Ludeke dam completed, set to be filled with water

20th March 2014 By: Natasha Odendaal - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Ludeke dam completed, set to be filled with water

Construction of the R250-million Ludeke dam, in the Eastern Cape, is expected to be completed and filled with water for the first time by the end of March, MBB Consulting said in a statement on Thursday.

The Ludeke dam project, which formed part of the first phase of Umgeni Water’s R1-billion Greater Mbizana regional bulk water supply scheme, started mid-2012 with the closure of the Ludeke river.

The Ludeke dam, which would provide a secure source of water to relieve significant water shortages in the Mbizana region, would hold 14.5-billion litres of water and span a surface area of 140 ha on completion.

“Even during a one-in-50-year drought the dam will yield 5.13-billion litres of water a year, providing a secure source of water to this remote, rural area,” the company assured in its statement.

The new dam, which boasted a 40-m-high main embankment built of clay core supported by a rockfill shell, was expected to cater for existing water demand, as well as any estimated increases over the next 30 years.

MBB Consulting was appointed to design and manage the raw water supply component of the Department of Water Affairs-funded project.

The Greater Mbizana regional bulk water supply scheme comprised the new Ludeke dam, a pumped raw-water supply system to the existing Nomlacu water treatment works, which was to be upgraded in two phases to 20 000 m3/d, and a bulk treated-water supply system within the Mbizana local municipality.

In its totality, the Greater Mbizana regional bulk water supply scheme would provide 20-million litres of safe drinking water a day to 266 000 people.