The government of South Africa has unveiled the Vlakfontein Reservoir. The country’s Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, inaugurated the facility Benoni, which is set to provide additional water to parts of Gauteng.
The construction of the Vlakfontein Reservoir is the brainchild of Rand Water as part of its augmentation strategy to maintain strategic storage capacity equivalent to 24 hours of water demand, especially amid the current power supply challenges experienced across the country.
The reservoir has a storage capacity of 210 000 m3, making it the largest facility of its kind in South Africa. The project, required an investment of US $25.4 million. Rand Water will operate the new reservoir, when it comes into service on 25 April 2023.
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Vlakfontein reservoir
“Currently, the other largest post-tensioned cylindrical reservoirs are in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where there is a network of 11 circular post-tensioned reservoirs with a capacity of 187 500 m3 each,” said Rand Water.
The Vlakfontein reservoir, which is 11m high, 11m further underground and 1.1km in circumference, is part of the Mapleton booster system that will gravity feed water through 3054km of pipes to supply systems in the Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipalities and the local municipalities of Govan Mbeki, Victor Khanye, Thembisile Hani and Lesedi. The Mapleton system receives water from the Zuikerbosch purification and pumping station via two 2,100 mm diameter pipes and distributes this drinking water to several municipalities via two other outlet pipes of similar capacity.
The reservoir will provide additional water storage and supply in areas situated in the east of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni up to 2035, based on a compounded growth rate of 2% for the areas.
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