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10.16.2 Environmental impacts of dams and other works*
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry insists on an Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) of all major water projects undertaken by, or on behalf of the
Department. Public disclosure of all major projects is required in terms of Section 58 of
the Water Act No. 54 of 1956. Accordingly, a report on the proposed works must be
tabled as a Parliamentary White Paper (see Chapter 21. Recommendations that arise from
EIAs are outlined in the White Papers and are implemented during the design, construction,
operation (and decommissioning) phases of a project. Environmental Impact Assessments
may be undertaken by staff of the Department, or via an environmental committee drawn
from a wide range of expertise in both the private and public sectors.
In NatallKwaZulu, the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme** and the Mfolozi River
Basin Project for example, have both been subject to EIAs. Environmental issues
considered in EIAs vary from project to project, where both beneficial and negative
environmental effects are examined. Short term landscape planning and site restoration
measures* * *, plus longer term implications (such as the release of water to maintain
riverine or estuarine ecology), are important factors in the analysis of dam construction
projects* * * * . The environmental effects usually studied may be grouped according
to their impact on man (socio-economic parametersl, as well as geophysical aspects,
water, climate, flora and fauna. The impactsthatvarious engineering activities (associated
with major water projectsl, have on the environment are shown in simplified matrix form
*
**
***
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Discussion based on Anonymous, 1986. Management of the Water Resources of the Republic of
South Africa, Department of Water Affairs, Pretoria, various pages. See also, Roberts, C.P.R., 1981.
Environmental considerations of water projects, In: Hattingh, W.H.J. (ed), Water Year + 10 and
Then?, Technical Report No. TR 114, Department of Water Affairs, Forestry and Environmental
Conservation, Pretoria, p. 106 - 123., as well as the section on The conservation status of South
African rivers in the chapter on water quality.
See Roberts, C.P.R. and Erasmus, J.J., 1982. Environmental considerations of the Drakensberg
Pumped Storage Scheme, Civil Engineer in South Africa, VOl 24(81, p. 361 - 373, 455.
See Anonymous, 1986. Completion report: landscape rehabilitation of the Drakensberg Pumped
Storage Scheme, Report No. VNl 00/18/E005, Department of Water Affairs, Pretoria, 35 p. + app.,
as well as Prior, E.E., 1984. Towards successful grassing of civil engineering projects, Civil Engineer
in South Africa, VOl26(1 01, p.491 - 493. (8rief overview details (including environmental aspects),
of several of the larger darns in South Africa, can be found in a series of pamphlets available from the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Example: lnanda Darn - Mgeni River Govemment Water
Scheme).
See Anonymous, 1987. Towards establishing the potential environmental impact of the proposed
KwaMshaya Dam, Environmental Advisory Services, Durban, 22 p. + app.