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 engineerThomas Stewart was engaged to design and build the reservoir.[2]
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.[2][3] The dam was constructed between 1894 and 1897. This dam was followed by four others in the area. The Hely-Hutchinson Dam and reservoir were 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 De Villiers Dam in 1907. This was built downstream of the Alexandra and Victoria Dams. Today, these five dams supply around 0.4% of the water for Cape Town.[4]
Designedit
The Woodhead Tunnel is 640 m (2,100 ft) long. The Woodhead Dam is a masonry gravity dam that is 277 m (909 ft) long and 50 m (164 ft) high. It has a free overspill spillway with a capacity of 20 m3/s (706 ft3/s). The reservoir has a capacity of 927,000 m3 (32,737,000 cu ft) and a surface area of 13 ha (32 acres).[1]
^(PDF), Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, 2003, pp. 17–18, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-14, retrieved 2010-03-28
April 11, 2024
woodhead, table, mountain, western, cape, south, africa, built, 1897, supplies, water, cape, town, which, first, large, masonry, south, africa, designated, international, historic, civil, engineering, landmark, american, society, civil, engineers, 2008, locati. Woodhead Dam is a dam on Table Mountain Western Cape South Africa 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 2 Woodhead DamWoodhead DamLocation of Woodhead Dam in Cape TownLocationTable Mountain Western Cape South AfricaCoordinates33 58 35 S 18 24 08 E 33 97639 S 18 40222 E 33 97639 18 40222Construction began1894Opening date1897Owner s Cape Town MunicipalityDam and spillwaysType of damMasonry gravity damImpoundsDisa StreamHeight50 m 164 ft Length277 m 909 ft 1 Spillway typeFree overspillSpillway capacity20 m3 s 706 ft3 s ReservoirCreatesWoodhead ReservoirTotal capacity927 000 m3 32 737 000 cu ft Surface area13 ha 32 acres Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory edit nbsp View over Woodhead Dam in 1906 from Popular Science Monthly Volume 68In 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 2 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 2 3 The dam was constructed between 1894 and 1897 This dam was followed by four others in the area The Hely Hutchinson Dam and reservoir were 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 De Villiers Dam in 1907 This was built downstream of the Alexandra and Victoria Dams Today these five dams supply around 0 4 of the water for Cape Town 4 Design editThe Woodhead Tunnel is 640 m 2 100 ft long The Woodhead Dam is a masonry gravity dam that is 277 m 909 ft long and 50 m 164 ft high It has a free overspill spillway with a capacity of 20 m3 s 706 ft3 s The reservoir has a capacity of 927 000 m3 32 737 000 cu ft and a surface area of 13 ha 32 acres 1 See also editList of reservoirs and dams in South AfricaReferences edit a b South African Large Dams South African Large Dams 1 2009 v3 0 xls SANCOLD January 2009 Archived from the original zip on 5 July 2009 Retrieved 5 March 2010 a b c Led by ASCE President Delegation Visits S Africa To Honor Dam as Civil Engineering Landmark ASCE International Page American Society of Civil Engineers Archived from the original on 25 July 2011 Retrieved 6 March 2010 Murray Tony Thomas Steweart First South African Consulting Engineer PDF American Society of Civil Engineers Archived from the original PDF on 25 July 2011 Retrieved 6 March 2010 River Health Programme 2003 State of Rivers Report Diep Hout Bay Lourens and Palmiet River Systems PDF Pretoria Department of Water Affairs and Forestry 2003 pp 17 18 archived from the original PDF on 2010 02 14 retrieved 2010 03 28 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Woodhead Dam amp oldid 1176819349, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
