The water supply situation in the Madibeng Local Municipality in the North West province is in a much better state at the moment. This after the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) ensured that five water delivery pumps are running and supplying water to the Letlhabile, Damonsville and Mothutlung villages respectively. Moreover five raw water pumps are in full operation with about 13 of the 14 filters functioning at full capacity with no wastage over the launder.
DWS is also making notable progress with regards to getting the Brits Water Treatment Works to run to its full capacity; this progress is made despite slight setbacks such as resulting from damage from power surges caused by load shedding.
Residents of Jericho also in the North West can now breathe a sigh of relief as it was announced a few days ago that about R2,8 million has been injected into constructing a pipeline that will connect a reservoir to two boreholes to supply water to the village in about two weeks. The contractor for this project is already working on site.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Cape residents of Grahamstown under Makana Local Municipality are still receiving water despite frequent load-shedding. This remains the case even during extended periods without power, something which would not have been possible a year ago before the Makana Water Intervention Project started. This is proof that the Department of Water and Sanitation has come a long way as far as maintaining water supply in the town.
Additionally both Water Treatment Works in the area are now operating close to their design capacity and are able to meet the water demand although facing slight reticulation failures due to the ageing infrastructure and a history of poor maintenance.
The Department of Water and Sanitation believes the recent developments are as a result of co-operation between community members and various water sector stakeholders involved in the intervention projects through the establishment of community water forums.
These water supply interventions will not only ensure that residents’ water woes are a thing of the past but will also contribute to job creation in the areas as locals are employed to form part off the working teams, more especially the identification and repairs of leaks and other maintenance.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau, DWS Director, Media Liaison
Cell: 082 874 2942
