THE water treatment works on Paarl Mountain will soon be operational, after construction was recently completed.
This multi-million rand water treatment works on Paarl Mountain will supply approximately 20% of the current municipal water demand to the area, benefiting 25 157 households and it will also reduce dependency on Wemmershoek Dam which is owned by the City of Cape Town.
Paarl Mountain has been an important water source for the Drakenstein Municipality for a long time. The various streams around the mountain have been used by farmers and residents from the early settlement of the valley, as they provided a pristine source of water.
However, as the water requirements of Paarl increased, more demand was placed on the mountain waters and as a result, Nantes and Bethel Dams were built in order to provide capacity to store mountain water throughout the year.
At certain times of the year, water from the Berg River is also pumped to the dams.
Though the quality of this water is pristine for most of the year, the dam water has been subject to fluctuations in quality. As a result, the Drakenstein Municipality decided to construct a water treatment works on Paarl Mountain to ensure a high standard of water quality.
An environmental impact assessment process showed that the best position for the site would be the unused section of the Pie- naarskamp picnic site, just above the existing Mill Water Reservoir.
The structure was designed to blend in with the natural environment, and granite cladding removed during excavation, has been used on the walls. The structure has been sunken 5,5m into the ground, in order to reduce the visual impact of the structure.
Trees and landscaping are being placed strategically to hide certain elements of the structure and to make it less imposing.
The treatment works has the capacity to treat 8 Ml of water per day.
