A view of Hely Hutchinson and Woodhead reservoirs

The decision to make the dams was made in 1870 when Cape Town had grown to such an extent that it was running out of water. A Scottish engineer Thomas Steward designed and built the first one which was Woodhead. The difficulties of the project in the days before the modern technology we take for granted today must have been quite daunting. However a cable car system was built on the Camps Bay side of the mountain to transport equipment and men and the work began.  This first dam wall was completed in 1897. The water to fill the reservoir was diverted from the Disa Stream. 3 more reservoirs followed this original one. The Hely Hutchinson, the Victoria and the Alexandira dams and finally the De Villiers dam.

There are a number of routes you can take to the reservoirs although if you take the Kasteelspoort route you can also see some of the old cableway system that was used.

Part of the old cableway found at the top of Kasteelspoort

Join Ridgway Ramblers on a historic walk around the reservoirs on Table Mountain