New Delft Water Walk
The 29-metre-high water tower, with its reservoir containing 600,000 litres, was built in 1895 to supply the city of Delft with drinking water. It was in use up until 1996 when it then sold. In 2007, the tower went through a significant interior renovation whereby the original iron reservoir was preserved. In May 2022 it opened to the public, and the building is used as a work and meeting space. It is also open to visitors during weekends and on the annual ‘Open Monument Day’. The former underground water reservoir and pump house host a small museum for contemporary art and ecology named RADIUS. Given this focus, the water tower and RADIUS form the logical end-point for the New Delft Water Walk.
Water Tower history
Next to the water tower was a large underground drinking water reservoir, the so-called water cellar, with a volume of 1,900,000 litres. This water was pumped up to the 600,000 litre reservoir in the water tower. The pump house still exists and is part of the RADIUS complex. The source of the water was the dunes near Monster. In 1921, Delft was connected to the Rotterdam water supply network, which took water from the Maas River. Then, in 1972, two reservoirs in the Wippolder region of Delft, each with a capacity of 3,000,000 litres, were put into use, and the water tower only functioned to regulate the pressure in the water pipes. In 1996, the entire water tower complex was closed.
After building renovations, RADIUS opened in May 2022. RADIUS is a centre for contemporary art and ecology and aims to explain the issues of climate change to its visitors and point out the need for adaptation, using contemporary art. Exhibitions, as well as public events and educational projects are organised in the former water cellar reservoir.
The water tower has meeting rooms and catering facilities, and from the roof you have a beautiful view over the city of Delft. More information about the water tower can be found here and about RADIUS here.
