Molteno and Newlands reservoirs ready to continue providing Cape Town with safe drinking water

18 August 2023

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate recently successfully completed cleaning the Molteno and Newlands reservoirs as part of its annual proactive water maintenance programme.

What to know about The Newlands and Molteno reservoirs

They are among Cape Town's oldest reservoirs.
The Molteno reservoir can store 188,8 million litres of water.
Newlands storage reservoir can hold 132,6 million litres.
Newlands reservoir supplies water to Wynberg Reservoir, Bishopscourt and all the way to Hout Bay and Llandudno, as well as Newlands, Claremont, Kenilworth, Groote Schuur, UCT, Rondebosch, Molteno Reservoir, Ottery, Strandfontein, Pelican Park, Wetton, Lotus River, Retreat, Steenberg, Muizenberg and Grassy Park.
Molteno Reservoir supplies water to Cape Town CBD, Foreshore, Upper City Bowl the Atlantic Seaboard, Woodstock, Mowbray, Rondebosch and Rosebank.

The City's annual maintenance work at Molteno and Newlands reservoirs included concrete repairs to the reservoir structures to ensure they continue to operate safely for decades to come.

'The City is very serious about maintaining our water infrastructure to ensure that our residents have a reliable water supply that is safe for them to use and drink. For this reason, annually maintaining our bulk water infrastructure is a critical part of this process. This is in addition to the City monitoring the water quality at the reservoirs throughout the year.

'Cleaning a reservoir is a mammoth task that takes meticulous planning, from before the operation, during the operation and once work on site has been completed.

'The City invested about R1,6 million in this latest maintenance work. Between 100 and 150 staff were involved in each operation at these sites, which each took about a week to complete. To get ready for the annual operation, the reservoirs were allowed to empty and then scoured. Teams put in the necessary contingency measures to ensure that there were no supply disruptions to residents supplied by these reservoirs because of this very important annual maintenance. The work on site went well so we are ready to continue providing our residents with safe drinking water.

'Thank you to all the staff who were a part of this annual maintenance programme and who continue to help look after our infrastructure throughout the year,' said Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office

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