Boegoeberg_Dam=Boegoeberg Dam was constructed by the Department of Irrigation during the economic depression of the 1930's as a measure to relieve unemployment.  The dam wall is more of a barrage than a dam with a maximum height of only 10,7 m and approximately 622 m long.
The dam wall is effectively a concrete weir which was initially equipped with 68 sluices designed to allow sediment to pass through the structure.  The original capacity of over 40 Mm³ has been reduced through sedimentation to the current capacity of approximately 20 Mm³  and appears to have reached some form of equilibrium.  The sediment sluices have recently been closed permanently and the structure is now effectively a concrete weir which supplies water into a canal on the left bank.
The left bank canal supplies water to 7 700 ha of irrigation in the Boegoeberg Dam Irrigation Area most of which is used for field crops and a small portion of fodder crops.   Technically the area is ideal for certain high value crops such as Pistachios, Lemons, Olives, Figs and Pecans and a new Pistachio development has already been established just upstream of the dam near the town of Prieska.
The Boegoeberg Dam site is one of several sites being considered for a new larger dam along the Lower Orange River to provide additional storage and regulation capacity below Vanderkloof dam.  No decision has yet been made in this regard and the investigations are continuing.
Image: DWAF (South Africa)