Dam within a dam will pump out the last splash of Theewaterskloof’s water
Western Cape water supply is now so low that engineers are building a dam within Cape Town’s main supply dam, to pump out the last puddles of water.A temporary coffer dam inside Theewaterskloof dam‚ near Villiersdorp‚ has been designed to pool the last 10% of supply‚ which will then be pumped into the canal that feeds the city’s water system.It is one of several Department of Water and Sanitation drought interventions highlighted on Thursday during a media visit to Theewaterskloof‚ which is just 10.84% full.Canals under construction will feed the coffer dam‚ from where it will be pumped at 1.5m³ per second.At that rate‚ the department will continue pumping the remaining water out of the dam for 260 days‚ according to infrastructure chief director Leonardo Manus.The water is stranded behind a wide sandbank and cannot reach the tunnel used to channel it to the city.Manus said Theewaterskloof was "designed to fail at 10%" — the lowest level at which water was still accessible. The curr...
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