Driekloof Dam

Driekloof Dam is a small section of the Sterkfontein Dam, Free State, South Africa. A section of the Sterkfontein Dam reservoir is isolated after the construction of Driekloof Dam, this small reservoir has a capacity of 35.6 e6m3., together with the Kilburn Dam almost 500 m lower, Driekloof forms part of Eskom's Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme and Tugela-Vaal Water Project, and provides for up to 27.6 GWh of electricity storage in the form of 275 e6m3 of water. The water is pumped to Driekloof during times of low national power consumption (generally over weekends) and released back into Kilburn through four 250 MW turbine generators in times of high electricity demand.

The scheme is operated in such a way that there is a net pumping of up to 631 e6m3/annum depending upon the water availability in the Tugela catchment (Woodstock Dam) as well as the need for augmentation in the Vaal Dam catchment.

The Driekloof Dam was commissioned in 1979, has a capacity of 32071 m3, and a surface area of 1.906 km2, the Dam wall is 47 m high.