Canal Maintenance
Regular maintenance activities are necessary to ensure the smooth flow of water, prevent blockages, and mitigate potential environmental issues.
Flow Control
Systematic process of adjusting water levels to meet various objectives such as flood control, water supply, irrigation, and ecological preservation.
Community Awareness
Ensuring community safety around canal areas is of paramount importance to prevent accidents, promote public well-being, and maintain a secure environment.
Lower Sundays River
Water Users Association
We are an NPO dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of the water system and canals in the Lower Sundays River Valley. Our mission is to safeguard this vital water infrastructure, ensuring its efficiency, sustainability, and continued benefit to the surrounding communities and ecosystems.
With a rich history and an invaluable role in providing water resources for irrigation, domestic use, and environmental preservation, this expansive water system holds immense significance. However, maintaining such a complex network requires constant vigilance, expertise, and collective efforts.
Stay up to date with the latest news, events, and announcements related to water management in our community. We provide regular updates on important issues, regulatory changes, and initiatives undertaken by the Water Users Association Board
Mike Primmer,
CEO of LSRWUA
Our Water Supply
Get more information from our source, the Gariep Dam down to Korhaans Drift weir where our Canal system is supplied
ALL
Dams
Weir
About Us
In terms of the National Water Act no 36 of 1998 the Irrigation Board had to transform to a Water User Association with its own Constitution. This was promulgated in the Government Gazette on the 20 August 2004 and the Management Committee was elected during February 2005 and started operating from 1 April 2005.
Collaboration
We provide a platform for stakeholders to collaborate, share information, and coordinate their efforts to ensure efficient and sustainable water management.
Resource allocation
The association develops rules, regulations, and protocols that govern the distribution and use of water, ensuring that all users have access to an adequate and reliable supply.
Education
LSRWUA often provide training programs, workshops, and educational campaigns to enhance the knowledge and skills of water users. This empowers individuals to make informed decisions about water use, conservation, and management practices.
Advocacy
We serve as a collective voice for water users, representing their interests and concerns to local authorities, government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. They advocate for policies and regulations that support sustainable water management and equitable distribution.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to promote sustainable water management, foster collaboration among water users, and ensure equitable distribution of water resources. We strive to protect and enhance the availability and quality of water for the benefit of our members, communities, and the environment. Through effective governance, proactive engagement, and innovative solutions, we aim to optimize water utilization, address challenges, and safeguard the long-term viability of our water systems.
OUR VISION
The vision of the Lower Sundays River Water User Association is to be a fully representative body and role model to fulfil the control function to continually adapt the functional infrastructure to create specialist water supply so that satisfactory service is provided to clients. Good management by satisfied staff will result in productivity, physical stability and guarantee effective operations. The ideal is to be transparent and accountable to the border community which it serve.
1883 - Establishment of Sundays River Land and Irrigation
The first steps taken to develop the Sundays River were made by James Somers Kirkwood who established the Sundays River Land and Irrigation Company in 1883. James Kirkwood’s dream went sour on him and his company was declared insolvent in 1887 and his assets were taken over by the Guardian Assurance and Trust Company.
1903 - Planning of Diversion Weir & Canal
The assets passed to the Strathsomers Estate Co, who started selling lands in the upper valley and commenced with the planning of the diversion weir out of the river and a canal system.
1913 - Completion of Korhaans Weir
The construction of the diversion weir, Korhaans Weir commenced during 1911 and was completed in 1913
1917 - Establishment of Sundays River Irrigation Board
As the origins of the Sundays River is in the Karroo, which is a dry region and prone to thunderstorms, the applied irrigation in the valley was erratic and was subject to either drought or flood and therefore the need arose to establish a dam to conserve the floodwater so that a more consistent flow for irrigation to the valley farmers could be provided. For this purpose an Act of Parliament established the Sundays River Irrigation Board in 1917 with the sole purpose of constructing Darlington Dam (Lake Mentz).
1922 - Construction of Darlington Dam (Lake Mentz)
A loan was provided by the State to construct Darlington Dam (Lake Mentz) and the repayment of the loan was the responsibility of the Irrigators by the imposition of a canal levy by the Irrigation Board. Because of this and that many farmers were experiencing financial difficulties as well as some of the Irrigation Companies, the State stepped in and decreased the area by approximately 9 000 morgen and took over the assets and liabilities of the private companies and vested them in an enlarged Irrigation Board in 1934, which took complete control of the three-diversion weir’s as well as their separate canal systems.
1962 - Completion of Betterment Programme
After the second raising of Darlington Dam the Board embarked on what was termed as the Betterment Program, which entailed the concrete lining of some 70 kms of main canal and some 155 kms of subsidiary distribution canals, and was completed by 1962. The main purpose of the Betterment Program was to improve the practical distribution of water in the valley and to limit transit losses to a minimum, as well as decrease the cost of maintenance of the old earth canals.
2023
Year Established
1 +
KM of Canals
1
Ha of Irrigation
0 %
of NMB water supply
Our Team
