130.Montagu Leiwater
Updated: 07/05/2025
What is Leiwater?
Leiwater is water channeled from source(s) (rivers and dams) through canals and/or pipes to supply irrigation water to properties in a town or farming community. The water is directed by a system of valves, taps and sluice gates, which are manually operated. Most systems, including Montagu’s, are gravity fed.
Leiwater is an Afrikaans (Dutch) word – lei means to lead, guide or direct. Leiwater is guided through canals. In English this would be “channeled water” or “canalised water”, but we use the Afrikaans word in English as well, not an English equivalent.
Each property with leiwater access has a beurt (turn) every week. Many of the properties in Montagu are smallholdings supporting working farms (olives, pecan nuts, citrus, sheep etc.). Most members have a water-collection point too (dams, tanks, fish ponds) to store water for the rest of the week. All water not used goes back into the river, so none of it is wasted.
While collecting information for this article it was realised that Montagu actually had a second leiwater system (possibly more). Further investigation revealed that the second system was somewhat of an engineering feat and it has been included as part of this story
Part of Montagu since its inception
by Heinie Heydenrych
Montagu Mail September 2001
The lei-dam on the corner of Bath and Barry Streets has played an important role in the history of Montagu ever since its inception. As a matter of fact, the dam was the pivot or axis around which the existence of the little settlement revolved.
Most of the town erven which came into existence as a result of the subdivision of the farm Uitvlucht in 1851 and 1854, were mainly dependent on the dam for irrigation water. The Keisie River was chosen as the source of the irrigation water since the Kingna River often dried up during the winter months.
The erven of 1851 and 1854 can clearly be seen on the map (below) from Derek and Vivienne Japha’s book The Landscape and Architecture of Montagu, 1850-1915. The erven of 1851 are to the right of the dark line and those of 1854 to its left. The subdivision of 1851 was the first since D.S. van der Merwe had bought the farm in 1844 with a view to laying out a town on it.
The erven north of Bath Street were known as the droëerwe (dry erven) because they were situated on too high ground for the irrigation water which was brought south from the Keisie River by a channel or furrow. The erven between Bath Street and the Kingna River and some erven south of Berg Street in Montagu West were known as the watererwe since they could be irrigated by means of irrigation furrows.
The channel running southward is still to be seen along Lovers’ Walk next to the cliff. It was badly damaged during the flood of 1981, but rebuilt afterwards. This channel deposited the water in a dam which corresponds with today’s (2001) lei-dam. However, it is still uncertain whether the lei-dam already existed in 1854, since the dam was drawn in on the map after then. On a map of 1856 from the state archives, no dam appears, although the water channel is clearly indicated. It is therefore possible that the dam came into existence a few years later.
Professor Derek Japha, co-author of the book The Landscape and Architecture of Montagu, 1850 – 1915, has been approached for clarification on this point, and has undertaken to cast some light on the date of origin of the dam soon. It seems almost certain, however, that by 1860 the dam was already there. (could not find reply in museum archive 2023)
Bath Street was built more or less parallel to the Kingna River in such a way that it had a gradual eastward slope from the dam site where the water arrived from the southern furrow. A new furrow was built during the 1850’s along the whole length of Bath Street, with secondary furrows from it along each of the street blocks between Bath Street and the Kingna River.
The present water furrow runs underground for large sections and often finds its way underneath buildings. A furrow forming part of the network could recently be seen running through the stand where the new WPK building is being erected on the corner of Bath an Du Toit Streets.
At an early stage a water furrow was built from Donkerkloof to the Keisie River to supplement the water in the river, and was replaced by a pipeline in 1950.
Every residential stand sold in 1851 and 1854 had a clause written into its title deed stating that it was entitled to on hour’s irrigation water. That is why these erven still have irrigation rights (le beurte) today. Later, half-hour irrigation turns were given to some erven, as the number which had to be supplied with water multiplied, and also since some erven were smaller residential stands. Today (2001), after some 150 years, the lei-dam still supplies water to the resident’s erven and smallholdings between Bath Street and the Kingna River.
Update on Leiwater
Montagu Mail November 2005
The history of Montagu’s leiwater (irrigation) system dates as far back as 1851 according to a map (page 10 of the Dutch Reformed Church’s commemorative book, 1854-2004) researched by Heinie Heydenrych.
For over a 150 years, the owners of many of the older properties in Montagu have enjoyed the benefits of this unique and, up until now, free watering system.
The National Water Act of 1998 made water a national resource, which means that the water rights included in many title deeds where people had ownership rights to water, have fallen away.
What is the Gebruikersvereniging/Association?
Montagu’s leiwater is a private system (not administered by the municipality), and all users are members of the Montagu Leiwater Gebruikersvereniging. The Leiwater Committee make sure that it runs smoothly by checking all sources and inlets, carrying out repairs and maintenance (including flood-damage repairs), and communicating with the members.
The Leiwater system is divided into five sections. Each section has a Section Rep who is the first point of contact for queries and help.
There is a Schedule of all the beurte so that all users know when their beurt is, who comes before and after them, and how to contact the other users.
A registered User Association, the Montagu Leiwater Verbruikersvereniging (MLV), chaired by Richard Knipe (2024), has now been formed and holds monthly meetings to administer Montagu’s leiwater. A constitution has been drawn up and the leiwater will in future be allocated on a yearly basis. The committee has, as far as possible, taken into consideration previous water rights, but has also allocated water to some properly’ owners who have never had access to leiwater before.
The objectives of the Association are not only to maintain, man and regulate the leiwater, but also to ensure cleanliness, quality measurement and the efficient running of the leiwater. The MLV is a non-profit organisation and to meet these objectives, it now has no choice but to impose levies on leiwater users in order to raise funds. The water allocations and levies will be reviewed annually each winter.
Richard Knipe says that throughout the years that Montagu has had leiwater, a fairly good neighbourliness has existed in Montagu. The sluices run through many properties that do not benefit from the leiwater (as far as a weekly allocation of leiwater is concerned), but the owners are nevertheless obliged to co-operate with neighbouring properties who benefit from the leiwater and to allow access to their properties to the appointed workers who maintain the sluices and regulate the flow of the water according to the weekly timetable.
Richard and his committee hope that the co-operation and smooth running of the irrigation system that has existed to date will continue. There are several laws and regulations that govern leiwater nationally, but it is hoped that it will not become necessary to have to enforce them here. A small compensation to the owners who have sluices running through their properties – but who are not included in the leiwater register – is that they all have what is called skepregte (water may be “bucketed” from the sluices at no charge) to irrigate their gardens.
While it cannot be guaranteed – as the register is virtually full – there could still be a slot or two available for anyone (with a leiwater sluice running through their property) who wishes to apply to be included in the leiwater register.
A typical notification to Leiwater users on their allocated time slots
Leiwater knou boerdery
Montagu Mail March 2002
Weens die ongekende droogte in die distrik Montagu en die Koo is selfs die leiwater van die dorp aangetas.
Die water bevat ‘n hoe konsentrasie braksoute wat braksensitiewe plante soos wingerd en appelkoosbome aantas.
Mnr. Philip Hoffman van die wynplaas Bloupunt in Langstraat is vanjaar amper die helfte van sy oes kwyt nadat brak leiwater sy pragwingerd kwaai geknou het. Bloupunt produseer gehalte chardonnay-druiwe en die helfte van die wynstokke is aangetas.
Die drag van sake wek groot kommer onder veral dorpenaars met pragtuine en die wat klein groentetuine vir eie gewin bedryf.
Mnr. Richard Knipe van die Leiwater komitee van Montagu sê hoewel die konsentrasie van braksoute in die water beslis skade aan plante aanrig, is daar egter steeds groente en ander boere op die dorp wat leiwater met sukses gebruik.
Oorbesproeiing van tot 30% met leiwater verminder die braksoute. Die antwoord is amper altyd om die grond te bevloed in plaas van dit te besproei. (Op Bloupunt is dit egter nie moontlik nie aangesien die helling van die grond dit nie toelaat nie.)
Mnr. Knipe meen dat indien die droogte voortduur, boere in die toekoms hulle toenemend op ander gewasse soos lusern en bome soos olywyn sal moet toespits. Die plante en bome asook dalle pekanneutbome is bra! water-bestand.
Op Montagu kan ‘n groot verske denheid gewasse en borne gekwee word en boere sal dalle moet wegbeweeg van wingerd en hul toespits op nismarlete soos dié vir olywe, sê mnr. Knipe.
Love and war
Lovers’ Walk and the canal were constructed by Boer prisoners of war during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). There are two stories, which may not be mutually exclusive, as to how this came about.
Story one goes that Roelf du Toit farmed with horses. When the British military wanted to seize his horses for military purposes during the Anglo-Boer War (which they could do in terms of Martial Law that existed at the time) he refused. He was arrested and he and his son had to help build Lovers’ Walk as part of his punishment. It would not have been possible to construct the leivore if Lovers’ Walk was not there because the water has to run downhill. A case of No Lovers’ Walk, no leivore. The photo below shows a group of POWs on their release in 1902. The gentleman on the left holding keys is Mr Hubbe, their jailer.
Story two: It was towards the end of 1900 that eight farmers from the Montagu district were taken into custody and sentenced to hard labour because they had failed to report the fact that they had seen, assisted or been aware of Boer Commandos in the area. These farmers were Dawid Burger, Josua Joubert, Muisvoël, Giepie Joubert, John du Toit and Boy du Toit. They are pictured below with their guard, Daantjie Beets, in the background.
You can see that these photos appear to picture the same men. The photos are from the Montagu Museum archives. You can read more about the history of Montagu, and specifically the construction of Lovers’ Walk on their site.
Town water
The Leiwater canals delivered water for all purposes until 1894 when leiwater was split from household water. Dorpswater (town water) came from Fonteinkloof (above the hospital in Montagu South). Because this source did not provide sufficient water for domestic use, another source was tapped in Keurkloof in 1899. (Water demand outstripped supply by 1919 and another source was tapped on the farm Het Kruis to the northeast of Montagu. Some of these three sources still serve the town with municipal water, plus a couple of others.)
1950s – Solutions
There was a furrow from Donkerkloof to the Keisie which was replaced with a pipe in 1950. The Kingna dried up in the winter months after Poortjieskloof Dam was constructed (completed 1955). The dam was too small, and the wastage too large, for earthen furrows, so the farmers built a concrete canal, from the Poortjieskloof Dam to Montagu, in the late 1950s with the help of a loan from Water Affairs. (The dam wall was raised in 1968.)
Water and leiwater from the Kingna serves farms along the river but not the town of Montagu.
Some additional information on the Poortjieskloof canal
One of Montagu’s community champions J.P. Viljoen who was born in the De Doorns district and moved to Montagu in 1954 where he bought the farm ‘Knipeshope A’. It did not take long for him to realise that there was a big problem concerning irrigation water. The biggest reason he had moved to Montagu was because of the Poortjieskloofdam that had just been completed. The main motivation behind this new dam was to improve irrigation in the area under the dam. Unfortunately the building of this dam left the Kingna River completely dry. He went as far as suing the Minister of Water Affairs because the building of the dam had adversely affected the natural flow of the river and requested that a canal be built from the dam to the town. Due to this Minister Paul Sauer ordered that the now well known “Poortjieskloof canal” be built. He kept on campaigning and finally Minister P.K. le Roux ordered that the dam wall be increased in height by 4,5 meters so that it could capture more water during the periodical floods. By now irrigation was much better but still not good enough for long-term successful farming.
Under the leadership Johan Viljoen several possibilities to bring irrigation water to Montagu were considered. Initially the so-called ‘Skotlandskloof’ contour canal as well as Dwariga dam schemes were investigated. Due to different reasons neither of these schemes realised and early in the 1950’s a plan was considered to utilise water from the newly build goverment dam, Poortjieskloof. After completion it was found that the river supplied less water than before and was inadequate for irrigation purposes. Shortly after this a canal was built from the dam to the town. This plan brought relief but the water was still not enough for sustained feasible agriculture. About a year later the dam wall was elevated by 4,5 meter to increase storage capacity but the water still wasn’t constant enough. All the above- mentioned efforts until 1969 were solely to provide the Derdeheuwel and Agter Langeberg districts with water.
Poortjieskloof Leiwater Canal Gallery
Photo’s taken by Lea-Anne & John Alexander
Thank you to local resident Mike Worthington Jones(retired civil engineer) who scouted the canal route with his bicycle and was able to point out many interesting construction aspects used by the canal builders.
Mike comments: The leiwater canal is 26kms long starting at an elevation of 346m and ending at 240m…..106m fall….4 meters fall in a kilometre…….The skill of the surveyor, at these figures is outstanding……half a percent fall!!!!!!!
The introduction of the CBR water scheme outdated the need to maintain this leiwater system and today (2024) the system is only functional in certain sections. The CBR system provides an all year round supply of water whereas the Poortjieskloof dam which feeds this leiwater network is affected by local drought conditions.
Remnants of the old Poortjieskloof irrigation system can still be seen on both sides of the R62 in the vicinity of Long and Bath Streets Montagu. This is where the canal system ended.
The sketches that follow trace the old leiwater network from Ashbury to its end on the Kingna river side of Long Street. The sketches were drawn to show where the canals once ran. Today (2024) parts are buried and not visible and other parts are still visible but not in use.
The canal ran from the right hand side of the sketch just below the word HILL
The end of the old Poortjieskloof canal. The old section on The Barn side of Long Street has been used as pipe trenches for new irrigation networks.
Above sketches by Mike Worthington Jones
The Poortjieskloof leiwater canal is managed by the Kingna Water Users Association (WUA) which plays a crucial role in water management within its designated area. Gert den Engelsman is the current (2024) water fiscal for this water network and it is his job to ensure that the working part of the canal is in good repair and he is also responsible for releasing water from the Poortjieskloof dam into the irrigation canal.
Above pictures were taken from Muscadel Road Ashbury
Somewhere between Ashbury and the dam
The dam wall with the leiwater control point
Foundations of the Poortjieskloof dam builders dwelling is still visible
For more information on an epic engineering feat to supply Montagu with water visit the CBR Water Scheme Story which is in English and Afrikaans by clicking on the appropriate link below
Back to the Montagu leiwater system
2008
The flood of 2008 covered the leiwater canals in thousands of cubic metres of sand. After long drawn-out deliberations with the local authority (which came to naught) and great expense to the members of the Vereniging, the members managed to get the water furrows cleared and repaired. There is now a flood fund for future flood-damage repairs.
2018 Drought & fire
Four years into the drought, fires swept across the Langeberg including Bloupunt and Donkerkloof.
These two images of Bloupunt on fire were taken on 14 and 17 January 2018. You can see the fire was still burning after four days!
Because the fire cleared all the vegetation from the kloof, more of the mountain runoff water made it down to the stream, and the leiwater volume actually increased! The water quality improved too because the farmers were using water more wisely and not letting all their chemicals run off into the rivers.
2015-2021 – The Great Roadworks Saga
The Western Cape Governement (WCG) decided to refurbish the TR31 between Ashton and Montagu. The contractors were scheduled to start work on 24 July 2015 and complete the work by June 2018 (36 months). They started in October 2015 and assured the Leiwater association that Long Street would be fully operational by June 2017. The job was finally completed in 2021.
How does this affect the leiwater? Well, all the canals in Long Street had to be basically rebuilt. They run under the road and pavements. Work was started but not completed because of the roadworks contractors’ various delays, bankruptcies, thefts, bureaucratic red tape and the lockdown. The users in Long Street have had to make all sorts of Heath Robinson contraptions to open and close water including sandbags and dustbin lids. They are an adaptive and innovative lot and made sure their leiwater ran strong and true. Though there were times when the water had to be stopped so as not to flood roadworks.
The water runs through pipes now, and the stormwater and leiwater systems have been split – which is brilliant! (Stormwater dumps loads of silt and rubbish into our canals. Elsewhere in town, the leiwater canals still serve as stormwater drains as well.) The junction boxes in the pavements were left open for several years, but are mostly complete now.
Roadworks in Montagu’s Long Street (R62). The pipes in these pictures are for stormwater not leiwater.
Photos are from the Langeberg municipality site.
2019 – Hailstorm
On the night of 11 March 2019, the western section of Montagu dorp was hit by a massive hail storm, with hailstones the size of golfballs!
The resultant rain and flood caused large sections of Donkerkloof to wash away and mud- and rockslides down the steep sides of the kloof. The leiwater source pipe was broken up and washed away. Because the pipe runs under the road in Donkerkloof, we had to wait for the municipality to rebuild the road before we could relay our pipe.
Luckily we had strong flow from our Keisie River source to supply all our leiwater during this time. At the end of April 2019, the road repairs were finally underway.
Thank you very much to J.D. Stemmet for doing such a fantastic job of reconstructing the road!
Once the road was completed, we hired J.D. Stemmet’s digger to dig trenches for our new pipeline. We also hired Jerome Simonis’s machine to lay the new pipe. Thank you very much to Richard, Gert, Jannie, Jan, Dylan, Mooi and Karel for doing such a superb job.
All photos by © Richard Knipe.
It took a couple of weeks to find all the leaks and make sure the pipe was strong enough to handle just about anything Mother Nature might throw at it in future. Donkerkloof water now swells our volume again!
2023 – Flashfloods
Montagu once again experienced the effects of both the Keisie and Kingna rivers in flood. The Keisie causing much damage to the Leiwater in especially in Lovers Walk…………………..?
Contributions: Thank you to the Montagu Leiwater Gebruikersvereniging/Users’ Association for allowing Montagu Stories to use information and pictures from your website
