Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) is a complex water supply system in the Western Cape region of South Africa, comprising an inter-linked system of six main dams, pipelines, tunnels and distribution networks, and a number of minor dams, some owned and operated by the Department of Water and Sanitation and some by the City of Cape ...
A map of the major dams that supply water to Cape Town. The Cape Town region experiences a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and winter rainfall. The Western Cape Water Supply System relies almost entirely on rainfall, which is captured and stored in six major dams situated in mountainous areas. [10]
It was established in 1978 and is the largest dam in the Western Cape Water Supply System with a capacity of 480 million cubic metres, about 41% of the water storage capacity available to Cape Town, which has a population of over 4 million people. [1] The dam mainly serves for municipal and industrial use as well as for irrigation purposes.
The dam will increase the water storage capacity to supply Cape Town, South Africa's second largest metropolitan area, from 768 to 898 million cubic metres (623,000 to 728,000 acre⋅ft). [7] The scheme will also improve the reliability of water supplies in the drought-prone river basin.
In 2009, 23 water supply systems obtained the Blue Drop certification. In 2010, 9 lost it and 24 gained it for the first time, bringing the total to 38 (less than 5 percent) out of 787 systems that were assessed. The three top performers were Johannesburg, Cape Town and the small town of Bitou. [39] [40] Water supply is increasingly under pressure.
The Palmiet River is a typical Western Cape river, experiencing winter rainfall and it is important for the Western Cape Water Supply System. It has a small catchment area of 500 km2, flows through the expanse of the Elgin Valley , and reaches the ocean through an estuary .
Voëlvlei Dam is a dam located in the Western Cape, South Africa near the town of Gouda.The earth-fill wall is 2,910 metres (9,550 ft) long and 10 metres (33 ft) high. The reservoir covers an area of 1,524 hectares (3,770 acres) and has a capacity of 168,000 megalitres (5,900 × 10 ^ 6 cu ft), [1] making it the second-largest reservoir in the Western Cape Water Supply System.
The white building behind the dam is the Graaff Electric Lighting Works, Cape Town's first power plant. Molteno Dam is a small but historic dam, on the lower slopes of Table Mountain in Western Cape, South Africa. Still in service, it was established in 1877 and is now located in the suburb of Oranjezicht, Cape Town.