PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION A. 37 



plants for irrigation. The power could be generated at the pit- 

 mouth in the neighbourhood of Vereeniging, Coal Mine Drift, or 

 other suitable sites, and a transmission line erected on the bank 

 of the river for driving pumps situated on the pools about one 

 mile apart for a distance of lOO miles up and downstream of the 

 central stations. The transmission line could also be used for 

 driving agricultural implements and machinery. Fertilizers could 

 also be made from coal at the central stations, and from such 

 a combination of consumers a good load factor would be obtained. 

 The line losses would be comparatively small (about lo per 

 cent.), and the price of current should not exceed o.4d. to O-Sd. 

 per unit at the point of usage. 



The Rand Mines Power Company is in an excellent position 

 for pRniding such power in the neighbourhood of Vereeniging, 

 and as the selling price of current at present is only o.525d. per 

 unit on the Rand, there is no reason why a lower price should 

 not be obtained if a large number of farmers agreed to take 

 current. 



Although there are few places on the Vaal River suitable 

 for jx>wer development on a large scale without impounding 

 reservoirs, there are many places where small power stations can 

 be installed. The erection of large power stations on the 

 lines referred to above would, however, probably be cheaper 

 than a number of individual small schemes. Two small turbines, 

 each about 50 h.p., have now been installed at Parys; but this 

 power can easily be increased by piping the water from the 

 present weir to the lower end of the falls. 



Conservation of Water. 



The question of conservation of water is one which should 

 be seriously considered in connection with all South African 

 rivers, as the quantity of water which is allowed to run to 

 waste into the sea is simply appalling. The Vaal River at 

 Vereeniging discharges from 89,237 million gallons in a dry year 

 to 3,264,400 million gallons in a wet one, and it is hoped that a 

 large proportion of this water will, sooner or later, be impounded 

 for irrigation and industrial purposes. 



One of the principal difficulties will be the silt problem, but 

 this can be overcome by the provision of barrage gates or a 

 sufificient number of under sluices in solid dams. A good example 

 of the former method is now under erection by the Rand Water 

 Board at the Vaal River Works, about 25 miles downstream of 

 Vereeniging. and the reservoir in this case will back up the Vaal 

 River for a distance of nearly 40 miles. The quantity of water 

 impounded by the Rand Water Board barrage will be 

 13,633,000,000 gallons, and the total cost will be about £285,000, 

 or £21 per million gallons stored. If the water was used for 

 irrigation instead of supplying water for domestic and industrial 

 purposes to the Rand, the area of which could be irrigated would 

 be about 25,000 acres. The cost of impounding is, therefore. 



