CONSULTING engineering firm Knight Piésold received commendations in the consulting engineer category at the Construction World’ 2021 Best Projects Awards for two of its projects, the Emoyeni Reservoir in Durban’s Outer West and the Neckartal Dam in Namibia.
The company was appointed by the eThekwini Municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit as the consulting engineer for the design and construction supervision of the proposed 30ML rectangular reinforced concrete reservoir at the Emoyeni Reservoir site.
Knight Piésold lead engineer Kendall Slater said that in addition to the reservoir design, the company carried out hydraulic modelling of the combined Knelsby and Emoyeni reticulation systems, and made recommendations on upgrades required. The proposed Emoyeni Reservoir site is in Hillcrest in the Outer West region of the municipality.
“The design and construction of the Emoyeni Reservoir utilized unique design and construction methods that are not commonly used in conventional reservoir projects. The project faced several challenges such as limited working space, working in a high-density residential area, COVID-19, as well as untried methods,” Slater said.
Meanwhile, the Neckartal Dam, which is located outside Keetmanshoop in the south of Namibia, is a curved gravity dam constructed with roller compacted concrete. The structure, across the Fish River, has a crest length of 520m and a height of 80m, capable of storing 850m³ of water.
Gunter Leicher, Country Manager for Knight Piésold Africa in Namibia, said the company has had a presence in the country for the past 12 years making its mark through its involvement in the Neckartal Dam project – the country’s largest dam.
