The City of Cape Town invites visitors to the City’s water and sanitation directorate’s Woodhead Dam Museum as part of its celebration of International Museum Month.
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The Woodhead Dam Museum is located across the Hely Hutchinson Dam on Table Mountain. Visitors will get a chance to explore the Woodhead Dam’s history, its intricate construction process and its past role in Cape Town’s primary water sources.
The dam has been in operation since 1972 and is managed by the Bulk Water branch of the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate.
It provides a rich history of the 127-year-old Woodhead Dam with displays of specialised equipment such as the steam train, hand tools, instruments, and flow measuring devices used during the dam’s construction.
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Five dams are located in the area, including Woodhead, Hely Hutchinson, Alexandra, De Villiers, and Victoria. Each one plays a crucial role in water supply to Kloof Nek and the Constantia Kloof water treatment plants. This water supply is distributed to the central city and surrounds via the Molteno Reservoir.
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The museum operates intermittently between 9am and 2pm on weekdays, subject to staff availability. Access is available via a hike up Table Mountain from Constantia Nek or by using the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway.
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This year, the City celebrates International Museum Month under the theme ‘Museums, Education and Research’, highlighting the role museums play in providing a holistic educational experience and promoting a more conscious, sustainable, and inclusive world.
‘The Woodhead Dam Museum showcases an important part of the City’s water history. We encourage residents and visitors to Cape Town to explore the Woodhead Dam Museum when visiting Table Mountain,’ says Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayco member for water and sanitation.
‘The dam was built during a time of significant water shortages in the 1850s, similar to what we experienced between 2015 and 2018.
‘We are currently working diligently to secure our future water supply through our New Water Programme, which aims to increase the City’s daily water supply to 300 million litres by 2040.
‘This will be achieved by diversifying our water sources and reducing Cape Town’s reliance on dams and unpredictable rainfall. In the meantime, the public is reminded to be water-wise at all times, regardless of dam levels and the season.’
Contact the following people to arrange visits:
- Lester Smith: 021 400 3143
- Mogamat Tape Samsodien: 021 444 9577
- Gregory Samuels: 021 444 9584
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Picture: City of Cape Town