[1] In 1916 a Board of Engineers was appointed to report on a water augmentation scheme for the City of Cape Town.

This dam would be connected to the Molteno reservoir through a tunnel in the Hottentots Holland mountains and a 64 kilometre long cast iron pipeline.

For much of the first half of the twentieth century it was the main reservoir for Cape Town but is now only one of many dams that supply the city.

It is used for the Steenbras pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme which supplements Cape Town's electricity supply during periods of peak demand.

[4] The City of Cape Town is investigating strengthening and raising the wall to increase Steenbras Dam's capacity.