1. 2ND ANNUAL DAM REHABILITATION &
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
THE ROLE OF MUNICIPALITIES
CASE STUDY: MTHATHA DAM, ORTAMBO
DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY,EC
24- 25TH JULY 2012
PRESENTED BY
JB NARTEY, 073-7369034

2. OVERVIEW
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE MTHATHA DAM AND
THE MTHATHA RIVER
 ROLE IDENTIFICATION
 DAM REHABILITATION & MANAGEMENT PROCESS
 CONCLUSIONS

3. MTHATHA DAM
 Ownership: Owned, operated and maintained by DWA according to the National Water Act. 36 of 1998
 Opening date; 1977
 Type: It is an earth embankment dam
 Purpose: Multipurpose-
 Potable water Supply-It serves as the main source of raw water supply (65.9 ML /day)for the Thornhil WTW which treats and
supplies water to the city of Mthatha and its environs with a total population of about 750,000.
 Hydropower generation- Supplies water for hydropower power generation by Eskom at 2 No. 6 MW hydropower station s
located downstream of the Mthatha river ( First/Second Falls hydro scheme ) -338 ML/day is utilized, but since the water is
returned to the river, this use is non-consumptive
 Recreation/Fisheries- Fishing competitions held bi-annually by the Dept.of Agriculture. However these activities are currently
defunct.
 Location; The Mthatha Dam impounds the Mthatha river at a location about eight kilometers upstream of the city of Mthatha in
the OR Tambo District Municipality of the Eastern Cape
 Accessibility: located off the R61 by a 2km partially tarred access road currently undergoing rehabilitation.
 Coordinates; 31°32′56″S , 28°44′0″E/ 31.54889°S, 28.733333°E
Height; 12- 38 meters
 Crest Length;680 meters
 Storage Capacity; 253,674,000 cubic meters
 Surface area; 2,542 hectares (6,280 acres)
 Raw Water Quality: The upper reaches of the river/Headwaters where the dam is located are almost pristine so negative
impacts on water quality are relatively low. However forestry activities upstream may be releasing herbicides and pesticides and
poor quality effluent in this section but their impact is currently not detectable in the available water quality data.

4. MTHATHA DAM-AERIAL VIEW
MTHATHA DAM

5. MTHATHA DAM
-DAM WALL, SPILLWAY/OUTLET WORKS

6. MTHATHA DAM
-DOWNSTREAM SLOPES

7. MTHATHA DAM
-UPSTREAM SLOPES

8. MTHATHA DAM
-ACCESS BRIDGE/CONTROL TOWER/SPILLWAY

9. MTHATHA DAM
-SPILLWAY/OUTLET

10. MTHATHA RIVER
-CATCHMENT CHARACTERISTICS
 Source: The Mthatha river drains from the Baziya mountain range at Langeni Forests -1500m above sea level.
 Mouth: Indian Ocean at an estuary at Coffee Bay,
 Catchment Size : 2600km2
 Major Tributaries; Ngqungqu and Cicira
 River Flow: From the North West to the South East
 Length: 250 km
 Climate: The area experiences a temperate to subtropical climate, with rainfall occurring predominantly in
summer. Average rainfall is relatively high along the coast (1 000 to 1 300 mm per annum), decreasing towards
the interior (700 mm per annum) and finally increasing in the upper catchment areas of the escarpment (up to 1
500 mm per annum).
 Geology: Dominated by mudstone, shale and considerable amount of dolerite
 Vegetation: vegetation cover consists of temperate and transitional forests. The headwaters are under pine
plantations.
 Land use:
 Grazing for livestock occupies 70%, Settlements and subsistence agriculture takes up 15%., Approximately 4%
is under commercial afforestation, e.g. Langeni plantations and Only 0.05% is under irrigation.
 Water Use:
 Commercial Forestry-related industries,( e.g. the sawmills at Langeni and KwaBhaca ),Urban settlements and
small scale industrial water users, rural water users, small scale Irrigation for subsistence agriculture. Etc.

11. MTHATHA RIVER
-ECOLOGICAL HEALTH
 Upper Reaches
 The upper reaches of the river is almost pristine so negative impacts on water quality are relatively
low. However forestry activities upstream may be releasing herbicides and pesticides and poor
quality effluent in this section but their impact is currently not detectable in the available water quality
data.
 Middle Reaches
 Dense peri-urban and rural settlements has impacted negatively on this section of the river.
 Some disturbed areas due to human activities have been invaded by alien vegetation, resulting in
undercutting and slumping of the riverbanks, siltation and reduced run-off .
 Overloaded sewage treatment works( operating capacity=18 ML/day, design capacity=12 ML/day),
poor management of the sewage systems result in the discharge of untreated sewage effluent into the
river,(Green drop status-22%)
 Lower Reaches
 Dense peri-urban and rural settlements has impacted negatively on this section of the river as well.
 High pollution levels further downstream of the dam due to the disposal of raw or poorly treated
domestic and industrial waste(liquid/solid) into the river and secondly high erosion in certain areas of
the catchment caused by poor land use practices.
 High nutrient loads causing eutrophication and proliferation of potential toxic algal blooms
 Increased sediment load due to erosion from overgrazing, poor agricultural practices and vegetation
clearing within the catchment.
(Source: EC River Health Program; Technical Report: Mthatha River Monitoring 2004-2006)

12. MTHATHA RIVER
- UPPER CATCHMENT- FORESTRY AND TIMBER RELATED ACTIVITIES -LANGENI
SAWMILLS

13. MTHATHA RIVER
–UPPER CATCHMENT-UPSTREAM OF THE LANGENI SAWMILLS:

14. MTHATHA RIVER
MIDDLE CATCHMENT- REFUSE DUMPED ON THE BANKS OF THE MTHATHA RIVER AND
INFESTATION OF THE ALIEN INVASIVE: BUGWEED

15. MTHATHA RIVER
MIDDLE CATCHMENT-SAND MINING ON THE RIVER BANK TO MAKE BRICKS. THE
BRICK MAKING ALSO MAKES USE OF THE RIVER WATER, WHICH EXPOSES THE
BRICK-MAKERS TO HARMFUL SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE.

16. MTHATHA RIVER
-LOWER CATCHMENT-ALIEN VEGETATION AND HIGH SEDIMENT LOAD

17. DAM REHABILITATION & MANAGEMENT
ROLE IDENTIFICATION
 PRIMARY ROLE
 The National Water Act ( Act No.36 of 1998) assigns the responsibility for the rehabilitation and management of
most major dams in the district to the Department of Water Affairs(DWA).
 However there are other smaller dams and dug outs which are owned, operated and maintained directly by local
municipalities, local farmers and game parks within the district.
 SECONDARY ROLE
 The National Water Act(Act No.36 of 1998 ) assigns the role of a Water Service Authority/Provider to the
OR TAMBO District Municipality and is responsible for the treatment, storage and supply of potable drinking water to
the city of Mthatha, the district administrative capital and surrounding towns.
 This therefore implies that OR Tambo DM is highly dependent on regular raw water supplies from the Mthatha dam in
order to carry out this legislative function of a water service authority/provider.
 OTHER ROLE PLAYERS /STAKEHOLDERS
 DEAT- Dept of Environment afffairs and Tourism
 Beneficiary Communities(Traditional Councils)
 Department of rural development and Land reforms-custodians of rural or communal lands
 Department of Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
 ESKOM
 Water User Associations
 Water Boards
 Department Of Human Settlements
 Surrounding Local Municipalities- Nyandeni, Mthlotlo and KSD Local Municipalities

18. DAM ASSET MANAGEMENT PROCESS
 Dam Asset Management Planning
 Dam Operation

 Dam Maintenance and Rehabilitation
 Dam Safety
 Water Resource Management
 Raw water Quality management
 Raw water utilization management
 Raw Water Conservation and demand management
 Environmental Conservation
 Catchment land use management

19. DAM ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANNING
Dam asset strategic
planning process
•IDP: conceptual district wide water
master plans/WSDP. Ward based
planning & Information System
(Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000)
•Dam Asset Mgt Policy
•Dam O & M Plan
•Dam Emergency
preparedness plan
•WCDM master plans
•Disaster & Risk Management
plan(Disaster Mgt Act 2002)wddd
•Development plans
• Conversion of borehole fed standalone schemes into Mthatha river fed Regional Water Supply Schemes
•Upgrading of existing town sanitation systems into full water borne sewerage system.
•Housing Developments(Emergency housing,eradication of informal settlements, urban renewal programs)

20. DAM OPERATION
Dam
Operations
Plant operators: WTW
•Example: In times of extreme staff shortage at the Mthatha dam site the
municipality sometimes deploys on a part-time basis some of its plant
operators from the water treatment works to assist in the normal operations of
the dam(outlet works) and also for skills transfer.

21. DAM MAINTENANCE & REHABILITATION
Dam
Maintenance &
Rehabilitation
programs
•Labor Intensive construction
technology, Local SMEs, Ward
Committees, Community Dev’t
Workers(CDW) etc
•Public Participation policy &
strategy
(Municipal Systems Act 32 of
2000)

22. •The use of Labor Intensive methods are applied in the rehabilitation of the
access road to enhance the contribution of local labor and help to reduce
the unemployment rate which currently stands at 68.1% within the district
.
•Local SMEs and unskilled local labor are attached to the appointed
service provider for skills transfer/mentorship purposes.
DAM MAINTENANCE & REHABILITATION
Example -Dam access road rehabilitation(2km)

23. DAM SAFETY
 Dam Safety Inspections/Audit are conducted
periodically by the DWA dam safety office.
 Plans are underway for the implementation of the
following dam safety programs:
 Dam reservoir augmentation –raising of the dam wall
to meet the growing water demand requirements
 Rehabilitation of the outlet works to increase capacity
and method of delivery. etc

24. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
-RAW WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT
 Raw water quality results obtained from the Mthatha
dam had been fairly stable throughout the years.
Raw Water Quality
Management
Raw Water Quality
Trends/Raw water user quality
requirements: Ward
Committees, Water User
Associations, Village water
committees

25. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
-RAW WATER UTILISATION MANAGEMENT
Raw Water
Utilization policy
dev’t &
implementation

26. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
- WATER CONSERVATION & DEMAND MANAGEMENT.

WCDM
•Water services by-
laws,
•Water tariff policy,
• Credit Control/Debit
collection policy
•Water Use restrictions
WCDM master
plan and
implementation
(Water Services
Act(Act 108 of
1997);

27. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
-ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Ecological
Restoration
programs:
Working for
Water programs
Implementing
agents;CDWs
Water Pollution
Control
•Public Participation
policy & strategy
(Municipal Systems
Act 32 of 2000)
•Participate in public
awareness, comm. &
education programs;
Water week
River Ecological
Studies/Surveys
Ward
Committees,
Community
Dev’t
Workers

28. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
-EXAMPLE-WORKING FOR WATER PROGRAM- MTHATHA RIVER CLEANING
 Clearing of invading alien plants and removal of solid waste in and
around the river using labor intensive/manual methods so as to
conserve the ecological functioning and biological diversity of the
Mthatha river.
 OR Tambo DM entered in to a memorandum of agreement(MOA) with
DWA for the planning, procurement of service providers/suppliers and
implementation of the exercise.
 Duration= Aug.2010 to 25th March 2012
 Excellent low cost activity
 Project Budget-R9.8 million
 Budget Source-DWA
 Job opportunities created -217
 Direct Involvement of the local communities which has led to the socio-
economic upliftment of the communities through job creation.

29. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
EXAMPLE-WORKING FOR WATER PROGRAM- MTHATHA RIVER
CLEANING

30. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Environmental
Conservation
•District spatial
planning &
environmental
mgt technical
forum,
•Public
Participation
policy & strategy
•(Municipal
Systems Act 32
of 2000)
•EMP,
•Environmental
policy statement,
• IWMP (NEMA Act
1998,NEMWA 2008)

31. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
-CATCHMENT LAND USE MANAGEMENT
 The Spatial Development framework provides guidance to the spatial
distribution of current & future desirable land uses/activities within the
district municipality in order to give physical effect to the vision, goals
and objectives of the IDP.
Catchment Land
Use Mgt
Environmental &
spatial planning
forum
Spatial Dev’t
framework/Land Use
Mgt Guidelines.
Ward Based planning
& Information System

32. CONCLUSION
 The National Water Act No.36 of 1998 assigns the primary
role of the rehabilitation and management of the Mthatha
dam to the DWA. However as a major stakeholder/role
player our role is therefore to offer the much needed
collaboration, assistance, support, facilitation and advise
to the work of DWA in the rehabilitation and management
of the Mthatha dam. This is to ensure the sustainability of
the raw water supply for continuous economic productivity,
promotion of human health ,survival of our natural
ecosystems and the support of the tourism/recreational
industries.

33. REFERENCES
 OR TAMBO DM IDP -2012/13
OR TAMBO DM-WATER MASTER PLANS-2011/12
NATIONAL WATER ACT,1998
NATIONAL WATER POLICY,1997
DWA WEBSITE(www.dwa.gov.za)
THE WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY_2010
NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE STRATEGY(NWRS,2004)
EC RIVER HEALTH PROGRAM; TECHNICAL REPORT: MTHATHA RIVER
MONITORING 2004-2006

34. THANK YOU