| Maguga Dam | |
| Name Official: | Maguga Dam |
| Dam Crosses: | Komati River |
| Res Name: | Maguga Dam Reservoir |
| Location: | Hhohho, Eswatini |
| Dam Height: | 115 m |
| Dam Type: | earth-fill/rock-fill |
| Opening: | 2001 |
| Res Capacity Total: | 332 000 000 m³ |
| Coordinates: | -26.0769°N 31.2594°W |
| Location Map: | Eswatini |
The Maguga Dam is a dam on the Komati River in Eswatini.[1] It is high and is located about south of Piggs Peak.[2] It was built as a joint project of the governments of South Africa and Eswatini.[1] [3] As of 2005, it was the largest public works project ever undertaken by Eswatini.[4] The dam was completed in mid-2001.[3] [5]
In 1992, the eSwatini and South Africa signed a treaty covering the "design, construction, operation and maintenance" of the Driekoppies and Maguga Dams.[3] As the former benefited South Africa exclusively (though the resulting reservoir lay partially in Eswatini), South Africa bore the entire cost for that dam.[3] As for the latter, Eswatini was responsible for about 40% of the cost.[3] The dam's primary purpose is irrigation (for water-intensive sugar cane, forestry and "about 1000 of Eswatini's small farmers"[6]) but a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 20 MW (generated from two units, each with a capacity of 9.9 MW[7]) was to be completed in October 2006.[1]
Maguga is a "clay-core rockfill embankment dam". The dam embankment comprises approximately of clay, of granite rock and of filter material.[8] It has an overall height of, a crest length of and a base width of .[8] It has a capacity of and a surface area of .[5] It has been designed to withstand a probable maximum flood of .[9] There is a 181m (594feet)-long labyrinth spillway.[9]
Droughts have caused major problems. In 2007, the dam's capacity was down to 37%.[10] In 2015, the water levels at the dam were at a record low,[8] and on 20 February 2016, the water storage level was measured at 31%.[11]
The project displaced about 1000 people.[6]
The Maguga Dam Joint Venture received a commendation from the South African Association of Consulting Engineers in the category of Engineering Excellence with a value greater than R5 million for 2002.[12] The dam also won the Concrete Society of Southern Africa's 2003 Fulton Award for Civil Engineering Structures.[13]