Ohrazenice
Your steps have led you to a natural elevated area situated above the village of Ohrazenice, the kind of place where drinking water reservoirs were often built. And it’s no different here.
In front of you is a system of reservoirs, one of the two main sources of drinking water for Turnov and the surrounding villages. Out of sight in the ground, there are two tanks, each 300 m3 in volume, and one tank with a capacity of 1 000 m3.
The most interesting thing to see here, is the new tower reservoir, which can hold 150 m3 of water. Right from the very start, this bold piece of architecture was a major challenge for all involved. The construction of a tower reservoir – a water tower – was planned here for several decades, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the need for greater pressure in the pipes led to the idea of constructing a tower finally taking shape, and the work was eventually carried out in 2018–2019. In 2020 the reservoir was declared the “Water Management Construction of 2020”.
The first challenge was its appearance; possible shapes ranged from a sphere, a tube, to a copy of some of the unique towers in the country, through to an original ball on the spring. However, the result is what you see before you. The next challenge was the construction technology. A house or factory hall is a routine matter, but few companies have experience with a tower like this. And, last but not least, it was no easy matter to choose the right sort of material.
As the reservoir is part of a complex system supplying drinking water, it is not open to the public. However, due to the sheer amount of interest, there are a few days in the year when the tower can be visited accompanied by water company employees. Information about these open days is posted at least 14 days in advance on the municipality website or on the VHS Turnov Water Management Association Facebook profile.