“Fancy overnight accommodation near a dam?” I ask. Here at the Dam Overseer’s Cottage on Table Mountain you are surrounded by five remarkable stone dams. These dams tell the story of Cape Town’s long and strained relationship with water. The dams high above the city hold a vital slice of Cape history.
Cape Town has always had a tricky relationship with water. In 1652 Jan van Riebeeck chose this spot. He set up a refreshment station for ships of the Dutch East India Company. The local Khoi people knew the area as Camissa. It meant the place of sweet waters.
By the late 1800s those sweet waters were running out. The independent municipalities of Cape Town were in trouble. Springs and streams slowed to a trickle in summer. Something had to be done so the city looked to the source.
For much of the city that source was the Disa River. It flows off the back of Table Mountain. It runs into the sea at Hout Bay. A pipeline funneled river water from the mountain to the city.
Thomas Stewart a Scottish hydraulic engineer provided the solution. He designed ambitious stone dams. They would store millions of liters of winter rain. This would see the growing city through dry summer days.
On May 1 1897 the local press unveiled these engineering marvels. The pipers of the Black Watch Scottish regiment played music. The mayor Sir John Woodhead watched. The final stone of the Woodhead Dam was lowered into place. The largest dam on the mountain was complete. It was ready to fill with nearly 1-billion liters of water.
To ferry men and materials Stewart constructed an aerial cableway. It ran between Victoria Road above Camps Bay and the top of Kasteelspoort. The horizontal length of the Kasteels Poort Cableway was 1613 m. It rose a vertical height of 665 m.
Blocks of sandstone weighed two tons each. They were quarried from the nearby mountainside. A steam-driven crane swung them into place. When completed it was the first large masonry dam in SA.
In 2008 the American Society of Civil Engineers named Woodhead Dam an international historic civil engineering landmark. It is one of only two in SA. The lighthouse at Cape Agulhas is the other.
Woodhead and the town planners knew the city would keep growing. Construction began on a second large reservoir. A steam train was dismantled and hoisted up the cableway. Tracks were laid. The engine was rebuilt. At the height of the works nearly 400 laborers lived on the mountain. After hours a choir a football team and a mandolin band were formed.
Though delayed by the SA War the Hely-Hutchinson Reservoir opened in 1904. It added another 925-million liters to the city’s water reserves. The steam engine remains at the side of the reservoir today. It takes pride of place in the small Waterworks Museum.
Until 1921 Cape Town’s water came exclusively from Table Mountain’s dams and springs. Wander past the old Overseers’ Cottage. You’ll soon happen upon the diminutive Alexandra and Victoria Dams. Victoria was the first dam built on the mountain. It was completed in 1896.
From here the concrete track offers sublime mountain views. You’ve a good chance of spotting the jet-black Verreaux’s eagle. Rustling restio plants surround the paths past the dams. The rich fynbos is also the reason for the dark rusty-brown hue of the water. The water is stained by the fynbos roots.
Wander these paths today. You’ll find the dams brimming with water. It is a reminder of the critical role that water has played in the city’s growth. A visit to these historic dams deepens your appreciation for the natural and cultural heritage of Cape Town.