What’s that Wagon-Wheel doing on a Helicopter?

If you spotted a helicopter flying low over Cape Town with a strange wagon-wheel like object hanging from it, here’s some info on what it’s been up to.

The helicopter forms part of a series of airborne surveys to establish prime abstraction sites for additional water during the drought. The wagon-wheel attached to the underside of the helicopter is an electromagnetic loop which is a measuring device.

These airborne surveys are part of the City’s ongoing work to ensure that sufficient new water sources are brought on board as quickly as possible to address the ongoing drought. These surveys will identify prime locations for where the highest volume of water can be abstracted from the aquifers.

“The City has commissioned a number of land-based and airborne geophysical surveys in order to establish the extent of the aquifers and to validate existing data and information on the aquifers. The surveys are designed to assist with the mapping of underground aquifers and groundwater flow.

The City will be tapping into the Atlantis-Silwerstroom Aquifer, the Cape Flats Aquifer, and Table Mountain Group Aquifer to supplement surface water supplies.

The refurbishment of boreholes and other infrastructure at the Atlantis-Silwerstroom Aquifer has already increased production by an additional five million litres of water per day. It is expected that the Atlantis-Silwerstroom Aquifers will bring an additional 25 million litres of water per day from July 2018.” – EXECUTIVE MAYOR, PATRICIA DE LILLE