Minister Mchunu upbeat about strides made in an effort to end water misery in KZN Midlands
The Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu together with his Deputy Minister, Judith Tshabalala today, 20 April 2023, officially commissioned and handed over to uMgeni Water to manage the completed Spring Grove Water Treatment Plant in Rosetta and Bruntville Reservoir in Mooi River, in the uMgungundlovu District, KwaZulu-Natal.
The afore-mentioned water and sanitation infrastructure forms part of the Greater Mpofana Bulk Water Supply Scheme which is one of the largest rural-based projects to be implemented in recent years aimed at providing access to safe drinking water. The scheme which has cost R 1.5 billion since 2012 is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation and uMgeni Water-Amanzi and it is implemented in two phases.
The components of the Mpofana Bulk Water Supply Scheme consist of a 20 megalitres-a-day Rosetta-Spring Grove Water Treatment Works, 8 km long Nottingham Road Pipeline, 13.2 km long Bruntville Pipeline and 12 megalitres Bruntville, 5 megalitres Nottingham Road and 1 megalitre Rosetta Reservoirs.
Through this project water will be sourced from the Spring Grove Dam located in Rosetta, afterwards the water will be treated at the newly opened Rosetta-Spring Grove Water Treatment Plant and transferred to the reservoirs. The water will eventually be supplied to areas such as Lions River, Belgian, Mount West, Vaaleskop, Bruntville, Nottingham Road and Rosetta located in the Mpofana and Umgeni Local Municipalities.
In the end the project will benefit approximately 130 000 members of the community and as a cherry on top it will also bring social and economic benefits to the district through reliable water supply.
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony as a mark of officially opening the infrastructures, Minister Mchunu assured the attendees that the Department and other stakeholders are hellbent on closing the chapter of non-availability of water. The Minister further urged the Water Services Authority, uMgungundlovu District, to commence the reticulation process in earnest.
“The rights to water and basic sanitation are entrenched in our Constitution, and whilst we have not fully realised it, we are hard at work. uMgungundlovu is a Water Services Authority and also a Water Service Provider and as such, it needs to ensure that it delivers on its mandate” Minister Mchunu said.
Subsequent to the opening of the infrastructures, Minister Mchunu and Deputy Minister Tshabalala embarked on a community engagement with members of Mpofana communities. The event was also attended Mpofana Local Municipality Mayor, Councillor Thembi Magubane and uMgungundlovu District Municipality Mayor, Councillor Muziwokuthula Zuma as well as local traditional leaders.
Traditional leaders expressed sincere gratitude to Minister Mchunu and other stakeholders for working together tirelessly in order to improve their livelihood through the provision of adequate and safe drinking water.
Minister Mchunu acknowledged that for the longest time rural communities and farm dwellers have been let down in as far as water provision is concerned but promised to change the situation by ensuring that by 2030, majority of them have access to clean water.
“We are very delighted to have officially completed such a huge reservoir and a water treatment plant. We all have a role to play to ensure that these infrastructures are protected, let us refrain from vandalizing infrastructures that are meant to benefit us” Minister Mchunu concluded.
In addition, Minister Mchunu highlighted that as the Department, “we are accelerating change as we strive to improve the lives of South Africans by providing them with basic water and sanitation services”, and further called on the provincial and local Government of KZN to join the Department in ensuring that the residents within the uMgungundlovu District and the province as a whole, whether in townships or rural areas, are provided with clean, drinking, piped water.
For more information, contact:
Wisane Mavasa
Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation
Cell: 060 561 8935
