A look at Pretoria’s new ‘beach’ – on the edges of the first clear-water lagoon in South Africa

 ·14 Sep 2018

Balwin Properties’ new development, The Blyde officially opened on 8 September 2018 in Pretoria, launching the first clear-water lagoon in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Blyde is a R4.2 billion residential development in Pretoria East, which includes the 1.5 hectare – the equivalent to just over two rugby fields – lagoon, which will provide a beach setting for residents.

The project, the brainchild of Crystal Lagoons, was first announced in 2016.

The Blyde also features a state of the art lifestyle centre which includes a restaurant, gym, spa, concierge, laundromat, multi-purpose sports fields as well as two swimming pools within the lagoon.

Regional director at Crystal Lagoons, Alastair Sinclair said that the lagoon has far less impact in terms of water usage than that of a park or golf course.

“Crystal Lagoons’ technology addresses the concerns around the use of water and the energy needed to maintain conventional swimming pools. Also, any type of water can be used – ground water, salt water and even brackish water are all suitable to fill a beach-like Lagoon,” he said.

A typical Lagoon uses 30 times less water than a standard golf course. The filtration system consumes only 2% of the energy required by conventional filtration systems.

The evaporation of water from these lagoon is minimised through the use of a microfilm technology that can reduce evaporation by up to 50%, which means that the lagoon does not have to be topped up with water regularly – as it would, for example, for swimming pools.

“In fact in some areas, rain water alone fulfils these requirements,” the group said.

“We are delighted with the inauguration of this crystalline lagoon at the Blyde in Pretoria, as it will not only provide tremendous value to our partners, Balwin Properties, and the residents of this development, but it also means that our company’s technology is now present on all five continents,” Sinclair said.



During construction




Read: New R4.2 billion development ‘brings the beach to Pretoria’

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