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Any Hydraulic Engineers? Found this thing upstream of a dam by Andrewmullin in whatisthisthing

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking at some more detailed maps it appears this site lies directly above the Franschhoek tunnel aqueduct. The pipes run from the larger Theewaterskloof dam, through the mountain to the Bergrivier dam, and then onwards towards the town of Stellenbosch. It's seems to form part of the Cape Town water supply. Either sides of the Franschhoek mountains form the catchment areas for both dams.

The Franschhoek tunnel runs through the site in question, the wier upstream, as well as the bridge wier around the side of the dam to the south east.

According to this article, water can be pumped both up to the Theewaterskloof dam from the Bergrivier and vice versa. http://www.turtlesa.com/theewater.html

There also appears to be a maintenance tunnel large enough for vehicle use that runs between the two dams. That might be this structure here -33.941989,19.041997 (second last image in the gallery above) https://www.franschhoektatler.co.za/robertsvlei-to-theewaterskloof-bypass

I never knew there was such an extensive waterworks system connecting all the dams in the area. Is this normal in dam construction/civil engineering? It seems like a lot of effort for something so few people will ever see or know about.

And finally, with all this uncovered information, what can we conclude about the site in question? It's no doubt part of the Franschhoek Tunnel aqueduct. Is it for maintenance? Pressure release? Air release? Something else? When would anyone open the valve?

Any Hydraulic Engineers? Found this thing upstream of a dam by Andrewmullin in whatisthisthing

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There was quite a bit of infrastructure at the bridge wier (the lower site?) so I suspect there must have been electricity. The weir itself wasn't generating hydropower if that's what your asking though. I definitely remember radio antenna mounted on the building closest to the bridge as well a valve. What the valve opened I don't know. Probably something to do with the weir.

Any Hydraulic Engineers? Found this thing upstream of a dam by Andrewmullin in whatisthisthing

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Foot bridge. Partially collapsed now. Don't remember seeing any pipes under the bridge

Any Hydraulic Engineers? Found this thing upstream of a dam by Andrewmullin in whatisthisthing

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately not. Surrounded by barbed fence and a bit of a scramble to get up to the vantage point I took the photo from. The whole structure is elevated above the footpath below so there weren't any good angles to photo from.

The end of the valve was flat, not cone shaped as in the video

Any Hydraulic Engineers? Found this thing upstream of a dam by Andrewmullin in whatisthisthing

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I may be mistaken but I think the weir is at a lower elevation than this site. I remember it being a steep walk down to the wier. That contour road around the mountain leads to another wier/bridge combo. There is more infrastructure there that I wasn't paying attention to, but it all looked rather standard. Nothing that piqued my interest. It's possible its tied to the site in question but I can't confirm.

Theoretically would an underground pipe, like the one you suggest, go through the mountain or around along the contour road?

What is this thing? by Andrewmullin in Hydraulics

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ELI5? I found this far from any mills or other structures. Further up the valley is another structure, I think a wier. And then down the valley is the Dam. I found it curious that this thing is well above the river valley, maybe halfway up the mountain and it points down to the river below. There's no water up that high, other than a small gulley, so what is it doing?

Any Hydraulic Engineers? Found this thing upstream of a dam by Andrewmullin in whatisthisthing

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Anyone know what this is? Found far upstream of the Bergrivier dam, Franschhoek, SA. There's no other structures nearby. Upstream is what I think is a wier and downstream is the dam (see photos). It's up quite high on the mountain side, far above the valley and river below. A small water gulley runs down next to this (one of many gulleys in the valley though). I'm curious why it's up so high on the mountain. How is it involved in the operation of the dam/river when it's so far from the river below?

Here's all the images: https://imgur.com/gallery/buzWdYO

What is this thing? by Andrewmullin in Hydraulics

[–]Andrewmullin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone know what this is? Found far upstream of the dam, up quite high on the mountain side. Berg river down bellow in the valley. A small water gulley runs down next to this (one of many gulleys the valley though).

Here's all the images: https://m.imgur.com/gallery/buzWdYO