Progress is being made on the construction of the third phase of the multi-phased Moretele South bulk water supply scheme project, in the North West, which started in June this year, with completion expected by June 2024.

Implemented by Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) entity Magalies Water, Phase 3, which will ensure reliable supply of potable water to the far west of Moretele local municipality, comprises the 25 Mℓ/d reservoir in Dilopye Village and a 36.2 km bulk pipeline in Mogogelo.

Phase 1 of the project, completed in 2022, resulted in the upgrade of the Klipdrift water treatment works from 18 Mℓ/d to 42 Mℓ/d, which ensures that there is adequate potable water from the treatment plant that will be transferred to various networks of reservoirs and bulk pipelines and, ultimately, to communities.

Phase 2 added a 30 km bulk pipeline from the treatment plant towards the far west end of Moretele.

Upon completion, Phase 3, which is the construction of a reservoir and bulk pipeline in the region, will ensure reliable supply of drinking water to seven villages identified in the far west of Moretele, including Swartdam; Noroki; Ratsiepane; Moeka; Ga-Motle; Kromkuil; and Mmakaunyana, benefiting more than 52 000 households.

The 25 Mℓ/d reservoir will have the capability to store excess water above the daily required demand and ensure sustained reliable supply to its network of communities uninterrupted.

The villages, while some have reticulation from the Moretele municipality, depended on unreliable sources for drinking water, including boreholes, water sold from private water tankering and rainwater harvesting, owing to inconsistent provision from the current system.

A total of R640.68-million has been budgeted for the scheme from the Department’s Regional Bulk infrastructure Grant.

“We went to see the site where the reservoir and the trench of the 36 km pipeline are being constructed and are satisfied with the progress,” said Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu during a site visit late in July.

The site visit was part of the launch of Operation Bulela Metsi, in which Mchunu unveiled the project in Moretele, while North West acting Premier Nono Maloyi officiated at a launch in Tlhabane, in the Rustenburg local municipality.

The Operation Bulela Metsi project is an outcome of a multisectoral structure set up by Mchunu and the North West Premier to address water and sanitation challenges, with a steering committee established to conduct an assessment on the state of water and sanitation services provision in the province and to further develop measures to address the challenges and ensure sustainable provision of services.

At the Boitekong sewer pumpstation and outfall sewer and the Tlhabane outfall sewer, in the Rustenburg local municipality, a project to address sewerage spillages was under way.

“The area of Tlhabane is notorious for sewer spillages, including the blocked outfall sewer which is a long-standing challenge. The upgrading of the pipelines started on June 1, 2023, and the project is anticipated to be completed on January 30, 2024,” said Maloyi.

Meanwhile, in Kimberly, in the Northern Cape, Mchunu established a task team to resolve the Sol Plaatje municipality’s water and sanitation challenges.

This followed deliberations with the municipality, which had outlined its challenges pertaining to bulk water supply and reticulation to communities.

Sol Plaatje, as the water services authority, is responsible for wastewater management and treatment of raw water and its reticulation.

However, following routine inspections, the DWS identified poor operation and maintenance on both water and sanitation infrastructure, which contributes to sewage spillages, water leaks and water interruptions.

Subsequently, the department issued several directives over the spillages of wastewater from the overflowing sewer network and pumpstations were ponding inside the Kamfersdam and Platfontein pans; however, the municipality indicated that it is having financial challenges to address the problems identified.

The steering committee, which comprises a technical team from the DWS and the municipality, will provide a turnaround strategy on Sol Plaatjie municipality’s water challenges, as well as address issues of high levels of water losses, with nonrevenue water estimated at 64%, owing to ageing bulk and reticulation infrastructure.