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Date: 1957 Type: Dam Status: Extant   Click to view map Coordinates: 33°04'37.06" S 23°29'29.81" E Alt: 701m

See more photographs The dam is constructed across the Groot River, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has the capacity of 85 800,000 cubic meters and a surface area of 23.145 square kilometres and the dam wall is 31 m high. The main purpose of the dam is to provide flood absorption. The Karoo sediments in the area contain a lot of salts and it has been found that lengthy storage of water results in high water salinity. Any flood water is used as quickly as possible by the downstream irrigators especially for the use by the farming community in the Patensie area and the reservoir is kept empty for extended periods. In 1961 the Kariega and Salt Rivers, the feeder rivers for the Beervlei Dam came down in flood and the dam overflowed for some length of time. Whenever the dam receives enough water, the sluices are opened to make water available for irrigation on rotation basis for users downstream. In 2001 the dam was almost at full capacity and the sluice gates were kept closed for some months. As a result the fish population increased and anglers recorded catches of Carp, Silver Fish and Springers. In recent years it has been noted that less and less water flows into this dam as a result of the construction of weirs upstream and also because the annual rainfall has dropped in the catchment area. Beervlei Dam remains, however, a very interesting attraction. The picnic spot just below the wall remains a favourite stopping place for the passer-by. (Baviaans, accessed 2022 04 21)