The photos show nothing of how steep the land is or how big this dam is. We chose this farm because we wanted the best terroir for our vines but steep hillsides are not the place to store water. If you build a wall on a gently sloping piece of land you can hold a lot of water behind it, therefore the cost per cubic metre of water is low. To hold the same amount of water on steep land as on flat land you need a massive wall therefore cost per cubic metre of water stored is much more. Tulbagh's first law of Sloperand.
Water is a scarce resource.
The South African government is being remarkably astute and is ensuring that farmers register their dams with the government to show how they are using their water. This is not just a case of Big Brother at work. It is to prevent farmers from catching the run off from the water catchments in dams, thus preventing it from reaching the densely populated areas, unless they are using it for economically justifiable purposes. The idea is admirable but an absolutely huge task open to administrative delays and abuse. We have registered all our dams and support the process.