Mchunu calls for the fast-tracking of projects to restore water supply in Ugu municipality
Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has called for the fast-tracking of two bulk water projects in the Ugu district municipality, in KwaZulu-Natal.
In recent months, the municipality has been under the spotlight owing to its inability to provide reliable water supply to residents, who took to the streets in protest over not having had access to water for months.
“There is water, the dams are full, but people are complaining that they have no water coming out of their taps. We have not balanced our approach. We have been emphasising water services and not spending enough time on water management services,” Mchunu said during a visit to the area last week.
“We have a deficit of 70 megalitres a day. The demand is 200 megalitres a day, while the current supply is 130 megalitres a day and the [water] availability is 224 megalitres a day.
"The water is there, it is a matter of finding ways to quickly treat the water because the supply is raw,” Department of Water and Sanitation water services management director-general Risimati Matthye pointed out.
Mchunu said the province was working on two bulk projects – the Lower Umkhomazi water project and the building of a third dam for the Ugu district. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2025.
“The Lower Umkhomazi water project will add 100 megalitres a day and it’ll do more than close the gap, it will cater for further development. The only problem is that it will take time. The commission period is 2025 but we want to fast-track it.
“Ugu has two dams, and these are clearly not enough; so a third one is being built. The dam will add 41 megalitres day. The process has started,” Mchunu said.
Comments
The
functionality
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation