After a leaking wall left Tarentaal Village’s dam nearly empty and bereft of life, plans were put in place to restore this gem to its former glory.
It took two months to complete the work and now the dam is adding a sparkle to residents’ lives as the slender branches of a willow tree kiss the surface of the water and bird life slowly returns.
“The walkway around the dam is perfect for strolls and all that still needs to be done is the landscaping,” says village manager Tammy Neilson.
Around 1.3 metres of silt was removed to allow the leak to be fixed and the dam to be rebuilt.
“In some places, the silt was 1.8 metres deep,” says George Vermeulen, Rand Aid’s grounds manager. “A three-layer bentonite seal was used to reinforce the walls of the dam,” he explains.
George oversaw the job, which was carried out by Albert Smook from A&G Earthworks.
The dam holds around two million litres of water, has a 157-metre circumference and is 2.8 metres deep.
It took three weeks to fill, with pumping supplementing the rainwater that fell during that time.
“A reticulation pump was installed so that the water never again becomes stagnant,” says George.
Before the repairs were carried out, the dam was a near-empty, stagnant mess.
In places, the silt that had to be removed was up to 1.8 metres deep.
The big guns had to be called in to reinforce the walls.
In it goes – it took three weeks for the dam to fill.
The end result! All that is left is the landscaping.
