Installed during the last week of September on a mountain slope overlooking the village, the panel-type Rainbow reservoirs – holding 240 000l each – will supply water to community vegetable gardens, where crops will be commercially cultivated for sale at the fresh produce market held weekly in nearby Greyton.
The department selected Rainbow Reservoirs to supply the tanks because of their design. Besides robust construction and long life, the Rainbow reservoir requires no concrete base for capacities up to 400 000l, and uses a sand foundation instead.
This was an important consideration in the ecologically sensitive Overberg, where the municipality wanted to avoid heavy vehicles ploughing up muddy local tracks to deliver concrete. It also meant that local labour could be used to help with reservoir construction.
The irrigation reservoirs are gravity-fed and, with trench preparation for pipe laying at an advanced stage, the project is expected to be complete by November. And preparatory garden cultivation is already under way.
Water has previously not been available in sufficient quantities for bulk irrigation of semi-commercial agricultural ventures in Voorstekraal.
