Minister Majodina encourages more water and sanitation innovations on the iconic Douglas Weir and commits to provision of sustainable water supply to the community of Douglas, Northern Cape
Water and Sanitation Minister, Ms Pemmy Majodina has encouraged the Water Research Commission and other stakeholders to use the prestigious World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) Award recognising Douglas Weir as the best and historical irrigation structure globally, as a springboard for the improvement of the lives of the local community, particularly with regard to water supply and dignified sanitation.
Minister Majodina together with Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul and Water Research Commission delegates, handed over the WHIS Award to the Orange-Vaal Water Users Association, and a newly refurbished Douglas Water Treatment Works (WTW) to Siyancuma Local Municipality, in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, Northern Cape on 18 September 2025.
The WHIS Award is a prestigious designation given to historic irrigation structures by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), and it recognises the cultural, historical, and technological significance of these structures. The Award was handed over to South Africa last September at the 9th Asian Regional Conference of ICID in Sydney, Australia, to recognise a 134-year-old Douglas Weir, as an engineering marvel that has pioneered irrigation-led rural development in the Northern Cape.
Douglas Weir was nominated by the South African National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (SANCID), and the award was accepted on behalf of the committee by ICID Vice-President and SANCID Chair, Prof Sylvester Mpandeli.
A weir is a barrier across the width of a body of water that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level and is used to control the flow of water for rivers and other water resource structures. The weir is located at the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers in Douglas and is now documented in the ICID Register of World Heritage Structures as the world’s oldest irrigation structure with historical context.
This is the first time that a South African irrigation structure has received the award since the inception of the WHIS recognition category in 2012. The award was officially handed to the water users association as it is responsible for managing the water resource infrastructure.
“The global recognition given to Douglas Weir as the historic and cultural structure with engineering dexterity, should be used to do more for the community of Douglas. There should be innovative structures that will bring an improvement to the supply of water and dignified sanitation to the local people and the surrounding areas. I therefore call on the Water Research Commission and different stakeholders to make this site a hub for innovation for water and sanitation projects,” said Minister Majodina.
The call by Minister Majodina to make use of the Weir to create economic opportunities to improve the lives of the people of Douglas was acknowledged and reiterated by the Chairperson of the Board of Water Research Council, Dr Rethabile Melamu.
“The WHIS Award places us as the only third country to ever receive such an award. As we are formally bringing this Award home to South Africa and particularly to the people of Douglas in Northern Cape, we pledge to make this award a catalyst for economic development in the area and as the tool to improve on water and sanitation challenges in the area. We will work with different stakeholders to ensure that this engineering marvel is used not only as an irrigation site, but as a boon to technological advances that will used to change the lives of the people of Douglas,” Dr Melamu said.
Minister Majodina also handed over a refurbished Douglas Water Treatment Works, which serves as raw water abstraction point for water purification and supply to the town and surroundings. The existing purification plant was not operating efficiently as it had exceeded its 30-year design life cycle, and it therefore needed an urgent refurbishment.
The R28 million revitalisation project scope entailed the refurbishment of the water purification plant, the general rehabilitation work of the plant and the installation of a 200KVA emergency generator.
Douglas water treatment plant initially supplied purified water with a design capacity of 3.8 megalitres per day (ml/pd) but was upgraded to supply 7 ml/pd to the population of 22 180 persons residing in 4 704 households within the area of Douglas.
Northern Cape Premier, Dr Saul said the handover of the Douglas plant demonstrates government’s commitment to service delivery and sustainable development.
“The newly refurbished Water Treatment Plant will ensure that the fundamental right of provision of clean and fresh water to every citizen of this country as it is enshrined in the Constitution. I should further add that great progress has been made to improve access to clean and drinkable water in the Northern Cape, with 84.4% households having access to safely managed sanitation and approximately 80.1% having access to piped water inside their dwellings. Just over 90% of households in the province rely on other sources such as springs and boreholes. These statistics assist us in understanding the trajectory of water and sanitation provision in the province, and it is also important to acknowledge the contribution made by the Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure service delivery is improved,” said Premier Saul.
The Premier also applauded the historic recognition given to the Douglas Weir, which contributes to the irrigation of more than 8 000 hectares, supporting both crop production and livestock farming.
“On behalf of the Northern Cape Provincial Government, I congratulate the farmers and the workers for the recognition that they have received with an internationally acclaimed WHIS Award. Government upholds and gives due recognition to all the efforts that alleviate the impact of being a water-scarce province. As such, we wish to applaud the Orange-Vaal Water Users Association that is responsible for managing the infrastructure,” Premier Saul added.
For more information contact:
Departmental Spokesperson
Wisane Mavasa
Cell: 060 561 8935
E-mail: mavasaw@dws.gov.za
Ministerial Spokesperson
Cornelius Monama
Cell: 083 271 0808
E-mail: monamac@dws.gov.za
#GovZAUpdates
