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Vaalhartz Weir is located on the Vaal River approximately 100km downstream
of Bloemhof Dam and 13km upstream of Warrenton
Click on image for full size photo
The main purpose of the dam is to divert water from the Vaal River
(released from Bloemhof Dam) to the Vaalhartz Government Water Scheme as well as the
Barkly Government Water Scheme. Water is also used for numerous small towns including
Vryburg, Hartswater, Jan Kempdorp, Warrenton, Winsorton, Kipdam, Barkly West and
Delportshoop.
The main construction of the weir was completed in 1938 and was part of
the government initiatives to alleviate unemployment following the depression of the
1930's.
In 1967, the weir was raised by 1.2m to its current height of 11m. It is a
concrete barrage-type structure, 765m wide with numerous sluices. The sluices are of two
types; some for the normal river releases and some for flood management purposes. The dam
is designed to handle floods of up to 14200 m3/s.
After the raising of the dam in 1967 , it has a storage capacity of 45
million m3. It diverts water into a concrete lined canal on the right
flank with a capacity of 40 m3/s. This canal supplies water to approximately
37000 ha of irrigation, most of which is located in the Vaalhartz and Barkly Government
Water Schemes.
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