Feasibility Study (2006 – 2007):
This project was carried out for the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, in association with and under funding from the African Development Bank, and entailed a feasibility study into the construction of a dam on the lower Fish River, in order to provide irrigation water to a proposed 2,000ha of land, which was to be developed under the Namibian Government’s Green Scheme Agriculture Project. This investigation was more detailed than the 1993/94 study and several sites and dam wall types, configurations and heights were investigated. Together with specialised consultants, detailed investigations were carried out into the possible siltation of the dam sites due to the sediment load of the Fish River, as well as into the geological conditions at the various dam sites proposed. These various analyses unfortunately showed that at a suitable dam could not be feasibly constructed at any of sites proposed.
Location: Brukkaros (Fish River)
Completion: 2007
Pre-Feasibility Study (1993 – 1994):
LCE undertook this Pre-feasibility Study for the Directorate of Extension and Engineering Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Namibia, which was funded by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) of the Federal Republic of Germany. LCE undertook this project as part of a joint venture together with Consulting Engineers Salzgitter (CES) of Germany. Loxton Venn and Associates were appointed as a sub-consultants responsible for the market studies. This study investigated the construction of a roller compacted concrete dam in the Fish River in southern Namibia, the provision of potable water and the necessary infrastructure to villages in the surrounding area and the supply of water to a 1,000 ha irrigation scheme. The project components included pre-feasibility planning, preliminary site investigations, a hydrological study, material investigations, geological investigations, cost estimates, an assessment of the project returns, a risk analysis as well as an assessment of the economic viability of water supply for irrigation of agricultural crops and domestic consumption. The provision of benefits to the communities in the surrounding Berseba Constituency of the Karas Region, as well as marketing strategies for various crop combinations and farm models were also investigated.