The "dome room" of the mysterious and terrifying Gellért Mountain water reservoir is only open to visitors for a few days each year.
Due to the looming lighting, the huge space, the huge columns, it's like visiting a cathedral: the temple of water.
The Gruber József water reservoir on Gellért Hill is the largest water storage pool in Budapest. Its storage capacity is 2 x 40,000 cubic meters, its total area is 2 x 5,000 square meters.
The construction of the water reservoir in the area bounded by Hegyalja út, Sánc utca and Orom utca took place between 1974 and 1980, based on the plans of József Gruber. Gellért Hill was chosen for this purpose because it is located in the middle of the city and is quite high, and the pools could also be easily connected to the existing water supply system.
During the earthworks, 140,000 cubic meters of earth were excavated, a part of which was then returned to the top of the water reservoir after construction, so that nature could conquer the area again.
The most difficult task was the preparation of a 30-centimeter-thick bottom plate with a floor area roughly the same as a soccer field. For this, the mixer trucks carried the concrete continuously for 41 hours, their progress was assisted by police control at the busiest junctions. A setting retarder was added to the concrete so that the entire surface would bond together.
The slab structure of the pools is supported by 2 × 106 pillars. The pools are piano-shaped, and the reason for this is that with the continuous flow of water, it is easier to ensure that the quality of the water remains as long as possible, and that there are no stagnant parts where bacteria can multiply. For this purpose, the bases of the columns are also curved.
Water reservoirs are needed because water use is not uniform, but extraction is. This way you can reserve for periods of greater demand. In addition, water storage tanks play a role in creating sufficient water pressure in the network and avoiding pressure fluctuations.
Every year, the Capital Waterworks regularly drains the water from the water reservoir to clean the pool. This is essential for maintaining drinking water safety. It takes about a week to completely clean a chamber. During this, the ceiling, walls, all 106 columns and the bottom of the pool are cleaned with drinking water using fire extinguishers. Finally, the quality of the water will be checked by sampling before the pool is put back at the service of the citizens of Budapest.
In addition to Gellért Hill, there are two relatively large-capacity reservoirs operating in the capital: the Kőbányai and the Rákosszentmihály water reservoirs.
Source and featured image: SokštátVídek
