Grit and innovation: A short history of South African dams

Throughout the ages, the lives of people and water have been inextricably linked. In semi-arid South Africa, where water is a scarce resource, the ability of engineers to regulate and manipulate the water that is available to them has not only been key to the country’s progress and development, but to the very survival of its communities. This short overview of the history of dam-building in South Africa provides a glimpse of the inventiveness, determination and daring spirit of South Africa’s water engineering corporations.