Johan van Staden, who forms part of the group of welldoers said restoring the Wonderboompoort Waterfall was important for future generations, 15 February 2022. Picture: Marizka Coetzer
Come Covid or high water, a group of people say they won’t give up their dream of seeing the iconic Wonderboompoort waterfall in Pretoria flowing again.
Three years ago, Xander Loubser, Johan van Staden, Alexander Heunis, ward 54 councillor in the Moot, Elmarie Linde, and Gerhard Stoop met at the Wonderboom Nature Reserve to see what restoration could be done.
The aim is now to complete the project in the next few months, despite delays due to earlier lockdown restrictions.
Van Staden said he believed it was important to restore the waterfall so that his grandchildren could enjoy the same marvel he had seen as a youngster.
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Since the project kicked off in November 2019, a lot of time and money had been invested.
The team initially explored the possibility of installing solar power to the pump and had the measurements and planning done, but the estimated costs were too high.
The City of Tshwane subsequently installed a minisubstation, which was already active.
“We are just waiting for the fence around the mini-substation to be installed,” Loubser said.
The sandpit of the dam was also still on the to-do list – to be cleaned and repaired.
Security and an alarm system will be installed next.
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