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GEORGE NEWS - The restoration of the first furrows in George, dating back to 1812, was celebrated at the Garden Route Botanical Garden on Saturday.
The furrows are once again in full working order allowing water from the mountain to flow into the main dam.
An information board, detailing the town's water supply history, was also unveiled. The board is next to the dam in the garden and it gives an overview of how George's water resources evolved into a modern water supply system.
An ornate, historic standpipe, donated by Anne and Trevor Davis, was turned into a spouting fountain with the input of several craftspeople and willing helpers. It takes pride of place next to the Audrey Moriarty main building in the garden.
Lynne Thompson, a volunteer with the George Museum, did the research for the information board. She thanked all the roleplayers which included Anne and Trevor Davis who inherited the standpipe from Fred Stone - Anne's father who had the foresight to rescue it from being discarded; Ken Gie, who dipped into his own pocket to buy the parts needed for the fountain and Fred Hennop who helped Gie to reconstruct the sluice gate.
The two also erected an information post. The wrought iron fencing was also beautifully restored. Heather Buys, a master potter, was approached to reconstruct the ornate dome and Gary Barker designed the triangular setting. Bertie Jordaan, Herbie Pienaar, Colin Ralston as well as Tarita Pollicute and Ernst Coetzee were also thanked for their involvement.
During the unveiling ceremony, Thompson read her historical synopsis of the water supply to George titled "Without water there is no life".
She said the founder of George in 1811, Adriaan van Kervel, soon found a suitable stream in the East Kloof on the Outeniqua mountain slopes to provide the town with water.
"By 1812 furrows had been cut and water from the mountain stream flowed down to Caledon Street, York Street, Meade Street and a part of Courtenay Street. There was a roster for the residents to lead water to their erven for two hours once a week."
The water history of George - Without water there is no life
This is a condensed version of the history of the water story of George, compiled by Lynne Thompson, a volunteer, and researcher with the George Museum.
This is a condensed version of the history of the water story of George, compiled by Lynne Thompson, a volunteer, and researcher with the George Museum.
A timber outpost was established in Outeniqualand in 1777 (in the Saasveld NMMU area). George was proclaimed a town in 1811, and Magistrate Adriaan van Kervel was appointed an administrator of the town. He found a suitable stream in the East Kloof of the Outeniqua Mountain slopes to provide the town with water.
By 1812 furrows had been cut and led from the mountain stream to Caledon Street, York Street, Meade Street and part of Courtenay Street. There was a roster for the residents to lead water to their erven for two hours once a week.
Van Kervel Dam
The furrows were extended as the town grew. In the area which is today known as the George Garden Route Botanical Garden, there was a vlei which was deepened and where water was stored by about 1830.
A second dam was excavated and an earthen wall built by 1840 to supply water for the increased demand. These dams were called the D & O dams and now the D dam is called the van Kervel Dam. Sluice gates were installed to control the water to the dams and to supply the town with water.
Trash chucked into the furrows
There was a letter of complaint in the newspaper in 1869 with the hope that the shocking and disgusting state of watercourses would be seen to by the town commissioners. The letter writer complained about the dirty water.
"Why must our water-courses be reservoirs for old dirty hats, caps and boots?" There were also many droughts and shortages of water.
The wheels of the George Municipality have always ground exceedingly slow. At last there was action in 1882 when they put out tenders for work to be completed by 1 January 1883 for a water scheme which included a cattle watering pond, a filter reservoir, also called the intake pool, a clear water tank and a water-furrow connecting East and West streams on the slope of George Peak.
Drought
However, by December 1883 there was a scarcity of water and no water was allowed to run down the furrows at night. A few lucky erven in town did have wells of clear water.
Once again drought threatened and Councillors visited the intake pool in 1893. A large leakage was discovered, full two thirds of the stream was running to waste. The water house, which they were informed had existed for years, was also leaking. It was agreed that the cause was shoddy workmanship when first built.
They resolved that it be remedied without delay. Whatever repairs were done did not last long as three years later the Waterhouse was leaking again and was repaired with wire-netting placed around it. It was also noted with alarm that some of those householders who had taps, left them running day and night!
Zwart River Furrow
A scheme to bring water from Zwart River into George to augment the town supply was first mooted in 1897. The following year a survey of the route to lead water from the Zwart River was completed. It would need a dam and furrows to catch water from 15 tributary streams on the mountain slopes. The scheme was shelved and proposed again in 1945 - nearly 50 years later!
In 1906, and after 9 years, none of the water schemes had come to pass. George was growing. Water was needed not only for household use and vegetable gardens, but also by the flour and saw mills.
But now there was great excitement in George - the railway was coming - and engines needed water, 10 000 gallons a day! - which, they said, would not increase for the next 20 years.
Wake-up call
Council agreed they could not delay augmenting the water supply. A stream had been found with more water flowing than all the streams used at the time.
But, at the public meeting to approve the scheme at a cost of £5000, Mr Gericke spoke up for the ratepayers and said, "It is not necessary to go almost to the top of the mountains for water when we have enough water at own door.”
In those days the ratepayers decided if the council could spend money.
In August 1923 there was another water crisis and there was a threat of cutting off the water supply to prevent wastage. At last the municipality was compelled to act after a delay of 26 years. There was a squatter settlement which had been in existence for nearly 50 years called The Ferns.
The government came up with a scheme to provide housing for both poor whites and coloureds. Instead of building houses in the Ferns, the residents were forced to move to the new township of Rosemoor. In November 1923, the municipality held a sale of commonage to pay for two proposed schemes - water and lights. £20 000 was realised for erven in the new white suburbs of Fernridge and Heatherlands.
Westkloof dam
In 1924 the construction of the Westkloof reservoir was completed and linked to town with cast iron mains and connected to the old water-house for emergency use. Rustic bridges were built to enable people to get onto the dam wall and this provided a popular picnic site.
After a flood in 1925 and more heavy rain in 1926, soil and rock washed from the railway cuttings above the Westkloof Dam. It lodged in the gorge and washed into the reservoir. This caused great concern, but there must have still been a shortage of funds as nothing was done.
The furrows in town remained in use until the late 1930s and the rooibos tea coloured water reached most homes in pipes. Can you imagine what a difference taps inside the house made to people’s lives?
George Dam
The Council said the Westkloof Reservoir, built in 1923, would provide an assured water supply for the next 30 years. The crisis point was reached somewhat earlier and in 1937, only 14 years later, construction was started on the Swart River Dam (George Dam), with an arch dam wall and new purification works. It did not take long for the dam wall to develop leaks which upset the calculations once again. Pressure had caused a shift of the base rocks at the wall.
In October 1939 there were jubilations in George. White, not brown water came out of taps. But the euphoria lasted just one week when the chemicals ran out and could not be supplied after the outbreak of the Second World War. White water in taps finally came to George in 1957.
Garden Route dam
The Garden Route Dam was completed in October 1979 and after a year of drought, the dam filled overnight with 250mm of rain in 36 hours in January 1981. This was the year of the disastrous floods in Laingsburg. The January flood was followed by floods in April, May and August 1981 when the record of the highest annual rainfall for George from 1878 to 2011, was broken.
The year ended with a total of 1656mm – almost double the average annual rainfall of 874mm.
The water shortage saga continues ... Drought followed in 2009 and by 2010, the dam was as low as 16%. Then came the 2011 rains to save the day. Province has approved the scheme to raise the height of the spillway of the dam to increase its capacity, but there has been no action to date.
George businessman Ken Gie (centre) who reconstructed one of the main sluice gates of the water furrow system in the Garden Route Botanical Garden unveiled it on Saturday 7 January 2017. Fred Hennop made the blade and kiaat box. The author of the water history synopsis Lynne Thompson is second from left. Photos: Pauline Lourens.
The Van Kervel Dam situated in the Garden Route Botanical Garden(GRBG) now boasts with a brand new information board which details the water history of George. The board was erected by volunteers Fred Hennop and Ken Gie with information supplied by Lynne Thompson.
ARTICLE: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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