Knellpoort Dam

Knellpoort Dam is a combined gravity & arch type dam located on the Riet Spruit, near Wepener, Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1989. Due to siltation, the storage capacity of the Welbedacht Dam reduced rapidly from the original 115 million m³ to approximately 16 million m³ during the twenty years since completion. This reduction in storage created problems in meeting the Bloemfontein water demand at an acceptable level of reliability and as a result, the 50 m high Knellpoort Dam was completed in 1989. It was the first arch gravity roller compacted concrete dam in the world and comprises almost 64 600 m³ rollcrete and 14 200 m³ concrete with a gross storage capacity of 136 million m³. ()