Captured after a long walk on Table mountain. Called Woodhead Dam.
It was built in 1897 and supplies water to Cape Town.
The dam, which was the first large masonry dam in South Africa, was
designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2008.
In 1870, the growth of Cape Town led to shortages of drinking
water. It was decided to build a reservoir on Table Mountain to
provide water to the city. Scottish hydraulic engineer Thomas
Stewart was engaged to design and build the reservoir.
The Woodhead Tunnel was built between 1888 and 1891. It was used to
divert the Disa Stream, a tributary of the Hout Bay River, westward
to provide water for the reservoir.
An aerial cableway was constructed to transport men and materials
to the construction site.
The dam was constructed between 1894 and 1897. This dam was
followed by four others in the area.
The Hely-Hutchinson Dam and reservoir was built by 1904, just
upstream of the Woodhead reservoir.
The Alexandra Dam and Victoria Dam were built on the original Disa
Stream by 1903. The last of the five dams was the Villiers Dam in
1907. This was built downstream of the Alexandra and Victoria Dams.
Today, these five dams supply around 15% of the water for Cape
Town.
(Barry: Back in the early 90’s, I was fortunate enough to work in
the shadow of Table Mountain in the Gardens area, just behind the
Mount Nelson Hotel. The tap water in the offices was supplied by
these dams. It is the nicest tasting water I’ve ever drank!)
Blogger Barry: Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed. Please
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Barry Blomkamp Nd. Bsc (UL)
Professional Public Speaker, Trainer and Corporate Entertainer,
Motivational speaker, Guest & Key note speaker, Seminar &
Conference speaker, Team Builder, Comedian, Master of Ceremonies,
For your Strategic Planning sessions, Management or Sales meetings,
Conferences and/or Seminars, Award functions, Year end parties,
Christmas parties,
Cape Town, South Africa.
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