Welbedacht_Dam=The Welbedacht Dam is a concrete barrage-type dam on the Caledon River which was designed and constructed by the Department of Water Affairs. The dam has a catchment area of some 15 245 km² with a natural MAR of approximately 1 210 Mm³a (1920 to 1987) and was completed in 1973. Its purpose was to supply water to the city of Bloemfontein via the 115 km long Caledon-Bloemfontein pipeline which has a capacity of 1,48 m³/s. Due to the high sediment concentration in the water, the transfer from Welbedacht Dam is first purified at the Welbedacht Purification Plant which is located just downstream of the Dam. The purification plant has a capacity of 1,68 m³/s
<p>Due to siltation, the storage capacity of the Welbedacht Dam reduced rapidly from the original 115 Mm³ to approximately 16 Mm³ during the twenty years since completion. This reduction in storage created problems in meeting the Bloemfontein demand at an acceptable level of reliability and as a result, the 50 m high Knellpoort Dam was completed in 1988. </p>
Image: DWAF (South Africa)