The new Shaka’s Head Reservoir in Ballito (KwaZulu Natal), South Africa, was completed in August 2022. The Penetron System was specified to ensure a durable – and waterproof – concrete structure.
Situated on the KwaZulu Natal coast north of Durban, Ballito is a popular vacation destination best known for the bottlenose dolphins that frequent the coastline. With easy access to highways and an international airport, Ballito has grown significantly in recent years. The population of the nine municipal wards that make up the Greater Ballito area is currently over 75,000 and continues to grow rapidly.
“The new Shaka’s Head Reservoir was constructed to accommodate the continued rapid growth of the Ballito municipal area along the north coast of the KwaZulu Natal province,” explains Jonathan Whitehead, Technical Engineering Support at Penetron Africa.
Located in the hills of the North Coast region northwest of Ballito, the construction of the new concrete dam for the Shaka’s Head Reservoir created a 1.5-million-liter (<400,000-gallons) capacity source of drinking water for the burgeoning region.
Faced with a number of post-construction issues, R & B Civil, the project’s general contractor, asked Penetron Africa for a durable concrete waterproofing solution. Inkunzi, the ready-mix concrete supplier, delivered PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete slurry, which was topically applied to the reservoir’s concrete structure to repair ferrule holes, cracks and any further defects in the concrete.
Once added to the slurry mix, PENETRON ADMIX, an integral crystalline waterproofing admixture, penetrates into the underlying concrete to create a non-soluble crystalline formation throughout the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete matrix. This enhances the durability and service life of concrete, and will also minimize any future waterproofing related maintenance costs for Siza Water, the reservoir’s owner and operator.
“This was a straightforward project for Penetron. The builder needed to quickly and permanently take care of a number of concrete placement defects – a result of the hot weather – to ensure the concrete structure was impermeable,” adds Jonathan Whitehead. “Thanks to our experience and success with a number of similar projects across Africa and beyond, the contractor was very happy with the results.”
Waterproofed with PENETRON ADMIX: The new Shaka’s Head Reservoir concrete dam created a 1.5-million-liter (<400,000-gallons) drinking water reservoir for the North Coast region of KwaZulu Natal.
Penetron at work: PENETRON ADMIX’s green tracer visible in the bleed water during concrete placement and finishing provides visible proof the crystalline waterproofing solution is in the mix.
