Crack in dam wall sparks safety concerns

A crack in the wall of Mohale dam in Lesotho, one of the world's highest rockfill dams, has sparked concern among neighbouring communities, according to a local NGO. Heavy rain in the mountain kingdom led to a sudden filling of the Mohale dam, part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), creating a crack in one of the panels of the 145 m high wall. "An expert in dam construction from Europe is arriving in Lesotho next Monday to assess the damage ... at the moment it is hard to make any assessments ... because the dam is still filled to capacity. We are, however, hoping that the water level will go done in time to see how far the crack has gone," said Liphapang Potloane, chief executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA). Transformation Resource Centre, an NGO fighting for the rights of communities displaced by the multi-dam LHWP, has expressed concern that should the crack be severe, the resulting seepage could be disastrous. "We have been to told by the LHDA that the crack is nothing to be worried about, but until a final assessment has been done, we have to keep our fingers crossed," said Mabusetsa Lenka, a spokesman for the NGO. The LHDA said they were monitoring the crack round the clock, and a statement on their website noted "the amount of seepage experienced at Mohale Dam is for now within the expected range and significantly less than on other dams of this type elsewhere in the world". Water from Mohale Dam is being transferred into the Katse reservoir, which is 78 percent full. Constructed on the Senqunyane river in the Thabaputsoa mountain range in southern Lesotho, Mohale is one of two dams that comprise the first US $4 billion phase of the LHWP, built to supply water to neighbouring South Africa's rapidly expanding Gauteng province. Water is Lesotho's largest single source of foreign exchange. The country, one of the poorest in the world, earns almost US $30 million in annual royalties from South Africa - roughly 75 percent of its budget. According to the International Rivers Network, an NGO campaigning against dam construction, the completion of all five dams conceived under the LHWP would displace 30,000 rural farmers and deprive them of their livelihood. However, no agreement has been reached between South Africa and Lesotho to go ahead with the remaining phases of the project. For more information see: [www.irn.org] [www.lhwp.org.ls]