Ambitious plan to convert Kibaima water tanks into the National Archives buildings.
ORANJESTAD—Four concrete water reservoirs, part of Aruba's first water purification plant, the LWV, are located along the main road between Drive-In and Santa Cruz.
In 1930, the decision was made to establish a water treatment facility in Curaçao, part of the Netherlands Antilles, to alleviate the water deficit on the islands of Aruba and Curaçao. The director at that time, Mr. Beaujon, born in Aruba, began to strive to start with seawater distillation, but that was something quite expensive to do. In 1932, Mr. Beaujon still managed to convince the Central Government to start distilling seawater. They built water pipes from the Balashi water distillation plant to Kibaima Hill before the start of saltwater distillation. The installation was necessary to find ways to increase water pressure so that it could reach San Nicolas and Oranjestad.
They built the first two tanks with a dome-shaped roof. With pumps, LWV was sending the purified water from their plant to the tanks in Kibaima and installed pipes to both Oranjestad and San Nicolas to supply both districts. In 1941 and 1942, the other two larger tanks were built and visible from the Santa Cruz highway. Each night, they filled these tanks with purified water to ensure the districts had their supply in the morning. In 1939, two towers were constructed to address the insufficient water pressure in San Nicolas and Oranjestad. These taller towers pumped water from the tanks, making it easier for the water to reach both locations. Once the water pressure was acceptable, they connected houses to the water distribution network.
According to Daphne Every from Stichting Monumenten Fonds, the concept of converting these tanks, which have been out of service for decades, into a national archive center is an ideal combination. The buildings are safe, tall, and perfect for climate control, helping to preserve Aruba's history. The location is ideal due to its altitude. The tanks are 50 meters above sea level, thus preventing flooding during a disaster. In addition, the tanks have no windows, which makes them ideal for maintaining the climate necessary to archive various historical materials.
During the year, they explored the best use for these structures, and now they will study how to transform them into a National Archives center. They will transform the first two tanks, featuring dome roofs, into an archive to preserve historical materials. The tanks closest to the highway will be converted into a museum dedicated to slavery and heritage, as well as an office space. The plan is to construct a building on the side to conduct preparatory work before archiving the documents.
Once the project is initiated, it will take approximately 18 to 24 months to complete.