The City’s Water and Sanitation department will begin construction of the new Bellville North service reservoir on Friday, 25 January 2013. The reservoir, which will be constructed at a cost of approximately R8,5 million, will be situated to the north of Van Riebeeckshof on land acquired from the Altydgedacht farm.
This work forms part of the City’s water supply infrastructure programme and follows on from the first phase of the master plan for the Bellville North Water Scheme, which was completed in 2008. The first phase saw the construction of a water pump station in the vicinity of Racecourse Reservoir in Durbanville and a rising main with a feeder pipe to and from the proposed reservoir.
The new reservoir will have a storage capacity of five mega litres (i.e. five million litres) and will be coupled to the rising main and feeder pipes that were completed during the first phase. It will provide an alternate water supply to the Bellville North service area and will also serve as an emergency water supply in the event of pipe bursts or repairs, in order to minimise the impact on consumers.
During the planning phase, careful consideration was given to the environmental and aesthetic features of the final structure, to ensure that it blends in with the surrounding landscape and is shielded from residential view by the planned treeline and exterior fence coating.
This work will impact on residents and motorists in the area, but the project plan has sought to minimise this as much as possible. The disruption will only be temporary as the construction work is expected to be completed by the end of June 2013. All efforts will be made to minimise the inconvenience and appropriate signage will be displayed in the area.
The contractor responsible for the construction of the new reservoir will have large vehicles passing through the residential corridors of Van Riebeeckshof and Protea Valley to the construction site. The contractor will establish a batch plant for concrete mixing on site in order to reduce the volume of construction traffic.
The construction of this reservoir has become a priority for the Water and Sanitation Department, because it will not only boost the storage capacity of that specific water supply zone, but also enhance the City’s service delivery offering to the residents linked to the water network in the area. This project once again shows that the City is committed to maintaining its water supply infrastructure enhancement and expansion projects.
The City wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused during the construction process, but it is imperative that the City continues to develop its water supply infrastructure to the benefit of all residents.
Residents and visitors to the area are kindly requested to please be patient and exercise caution.
