Dam soon complete
2007-05-03
WITH another long hot summer behind us, the dam levels in the Western Cape are still disturbingly low.
Local dams such as Wemmershoek, Voëlvlei and Theewaters Kloof have again dropped below 50% of their capacity, and demand seems to far outweigh the supply of water in the region.
But things are looking up, with the prospect of the Berg River Dam near Franschhoek fast nearing completion.
This R1,6 billion TCTA development is currently the largest water infrastructure project in South Africa and on completion it will have a storage capacity of 130,1 million cubic metres.
One of the spectacular features of the dam is the 62 metre high rock-fill wall which is almost one kilometre long. This will be the biggest wall of its kind in the country.
Currently the wall is 95% completed and in July the sluices will be closed in order for the dam to start filling up.
The dam’s entire system has been designed to capture as much excess water from the Berg River and its tributaries as possible.
One of these features is the supplement scheme which has been built near the Drakenstein Prison, from where excess water in the Berg River will be pumped back to the dam.
If the Berg River Dam should ever overflow, its excess water will also be pumped back to the Theewaters Kloof Dam using a complex pump system.
Once the dam starts to fill up in July, it is hoped that it will only take one good season of rain to fill it up, and if so, the dam could start with water delivery to the City of Cape Town by the end of this year.
Once completed, the dam should surely bring relief to the dwindling water supply for the people in the area.
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