|
Molteno Dam is a small but historic dam, on the lower slopes of Table Mountain in Western Cape, South Africa. Still in service, it was established in 1877 and is now located in the suburb of Oranjezicht, Cape Town. ==Background and Construction== In earlier days, the infant settlement of Cape Town had been supplied with water from Table Mountain by way of canals or ''"grachts"'' (such as Buitengracht, Kaizergracht and Heerengracht - now major streets). When these canals had to be covered due to public health concerns, the elders of the city agreed on the need to build a dam up on the Table Mountain slope above the growing city, to store water from the mountain's springs. This water would otherwise have flowed directly into the sea - a shameful waste in the eyes of the city's administrators. The dam's actual construction was part of a huge expansion of infrastructure that was begun by the government of the country's first Prime Minister John Molteno (after whom it was later named), who appointed the Cape's first water engineer Mr John Gamble, as well as the mayor David Graaff. Soon after the dam was opened, the first power-plant in South Africa, the Graaff Electric Lighting Works (named after the Mayor), was constructed next to the reservoir. The dam was intended to hold over 50,000,000 gallons of water, in sandy porous clay which presented an engineering challenge from the outset. The solution, only implemented years later, involved a mixture of excavation and masonry-supported embankments. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Molteno Dam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|