THE Blossoms water project which will supply water via a pipeline of 22 km to Oudtshoorn and rural areas, has been completed and will be put in service as soon as Eskom has completed the power lines to supply electricity to boreholes and pump stations.
The pipeline starts at the main borehole on the Kleinfontein Farm in the Blossoms area from where it is pumped over 1,5 km to a booster pump station and reservoir. Water from the secondary boreholes is also pumped to the booster pump station and reservoir. From this reservoir, water is pumped at 48 litres per second to the main reservoir 2,5 km away on the farm, Chandelier.
From this reservoir, water will gravitate along a pipeline of 17 km, and cross the Olifants River via the old road bridge just outside Oudtshoorn. There the water is divided with some of the supply going to the Rural Water Scheme and the rest to the East Reservoir near the Correctional Services grounds to augment the water supply to the town.
The initial drought project was approved in 2018 and funding was done in three phases (R30m in 2019, R20m in 2021 and R50m in 2022/23)
The pipes were purchased in 2019 and construction work of the pipeline started in 2020 with 5 km being completed. The remainder of the pipeline was completed during 2022/23 and all pump stations and reservoirs were built, and installations completed. The total cost of the project was R100m, and it will supply 4 150 kl of water to Oudtshoorn.
All that is still needed to be completed is the power line being installed by Eskom.
Blossoms project completed
Bottom is the map of the pipline which streches over 22 km. Below: Officials from the goverment department that largely funded the project doing inspection during the construction of the pipeline. Photo: Supplied