Voëlvlei Dam is a dam located in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

near the town of Gouda. The earth-fill wall is long and high. The reservoir covers an area of and has a capacity of , making it the second-largest reservoir in the Western Cape Water Supply System. Water from the reservoir is supplied to water treatment works of the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...

and the

West Coast District Municipality The West Coast District Municipality (; ) is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC1. Moorreesburg is the seat of the district. As of 2011, it had a total population of 391,766. G ...

, and can also be released into the

Berg River The Berg River (also called Great Berg River or in Afrikaans: Bergrivier) is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of and ...

for agricultural purposes or to fill the

Misverstand Dam Misverstand Dam is a combined gravity & arch type dam located on the Berg River, near Porterville, Western Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1977 and serves mainly for municipal and industrial use. The hazard potential of the dam has be ...

. The Voëlvlei Dam was constructed in 1952 to expand the capacity of the Voëlvlei lake, which formed in a natural depression. Because the lake had a limited

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

, a canal was also constructed to supply water to the reservoir from a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

in the Nuwekloof Pass on the Klein Berg River. To meet increased demand for water from Cape Town, the dam wall was raised in 1969, and a second canal was constructed in 1971 to supply water from the Leeu River and Vier-en-Twintig River, which drain the

Groot Winterhoek The Groot Winterhoek mountains are located in the Western Cape province of South Africa and are part of the Cape Fold Belt comprising a watershed area of 552,606 hectares. They rise to a maximum height of 2077 m just north of the town of Tul ...

. Since 1734 the farm on which Voëlvlei Dam is situated belonged to the Walters family, who were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent. In 1948 the government expropriated the land and the farm for the Berg River Irrigation Scheme. The state paid compensation to the Walters family in the amount of £44,000 and the Vogelvlei Quarries (Pty) Ltd which bought the remainder of Voëlvlei in 1946 for £48,000. The Walters family did not agree to the expropriation and maintained a long-standing dispute with the then Nationalist government. After South Africa became a democratic country in 1994 the son of the former owner of Voëlvlei instituted a land claim under the Land Restitution Act.Modules
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References

Dams in South Africa Dams completed in 1971 1952 establishments in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-dam-stub