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Kouga Dam

dam in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ3445670
Source-derived summary

The Kouga Dam is an arch dam on the Kouga River about 21 km (13 mi) west of Patensie in Kouga Local Municipality, South Africa. It supplies irrigation water to the Kouga and Gamtoos valleys as well as drinking water to the Port Elizabeth metropolitan area via the Loerie Balancing Dam. It was constructed between 1957 and 1969.

The dam can be accessed by following the R330 and then the R331 from the N2 at Humansdorp. All but the last 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) is tarred road and there is a short tunnel just before the dam wall.

It was named the Paul Sauer Dam after Paul Sauer, but was renamed in 1995.

Kouga Dam Power Station

There are three 1200 kVA hydroelectric turbines at the base of the dam, but they are currently not in use.

Editorial summary

“Kouga Dam” enters the record as dam in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kouga, Eastern and Cape can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1957, 1969, 1995, 1200—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1969-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Kouga, Eastern and Cape.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Kouga Dam” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Kouga, Eastern and Cape provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3445670. Authority coordinates are -33.741, 24.588. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957, 1969, 1995 and 1200.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Kouga Dam”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Kouga Dam primary sources, Kouga Dam archive and Kouga research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kouga Dam”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Kouga Dam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.