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Drought

Woodhead Dam
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: DamsEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1897Woodhead DamCape TownState: Western CapeCountry: South AfricaWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Woodhead-Dam/Creator: Stewart, Thomas

With the discoveries of South Africa's diamonds in the 1860s and gold in the 1880s, immigrants flooded into Cape Town and changed it into a major commercial center. Unfortunately, its water supply had not kept pace with the population growth.  After several droughts and years of inadequate water supply, the Woodhead Tunnel was constructed between 1887 and 1891. When it failed to solve the water shortage problem, the Municipality of Cape Town determined that a dam and reservoir needed to be built.

YearAdded:
2008
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Tim Fields (CC BY-ND 2.0)Image Caption: Woodhead DamEra_date_from: 1897
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Woodhead Dam

With the discoveries of South Africa's diamonds in the 1860s and gold in the 1880s, immigrants flooded into Cape Town and changed it into a major commercial center. Unfortunately, its water supply had not kept pace with the population growth.  After several droughts and years of inadequate water…

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