Question NW2721 to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
05 January 2022 - NW2721
Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
With reference to the management of water provision to the town of Hoedspruit from the Air Force Base Hoedspruit, what (a) is being done to repair the Essex Water Pipeline that was damaged three years ago and is still not functional, (b) progress has been made to transfer the function of water provision to the Mopani District Municipality and (c) measures are in place to ensure that early warning systems are effective in preventing the complete depletion of the reservoir which results in the town being without water?
Reply:
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
a) I have been informed by the Department that the Department appointed an Engineering Service Provider to conduct tests at the ESSEX pump station. The testing included the inspection of electrical, mechanical and system integration. The testing revealed that some elements needed to be replaced and a service provider was appointed but could not perform according to the specifications and left the site. The Department is, now, in the process of appointing a new service provider. The appointment should be completed before the end of February 2022. It must be noted that one pump is running while the other is overheating and needs to be replaced.
b) The contract between Blyde River water utility and the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure expires in February 2024 and a multi-stakeholder forum has been established to ensure the smooth transfer in 2024. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), Maruleng Local Municipality and Mopani District Municipality are active stakeholders in this forum. The Forum is meant to deal with, amongst others, the water issues at Hoedspruit; the transfer of the pipeline to Department of Water and Sanitation as per the contract between Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and the Water Utility; and the provision of land by the Mopani District Municipality to DPWI, for a feasibility study. The plan discussed by the forum is aimed at aligning the transfer with the capacity of the Mopani District Municipality to provide bulk water supply to the community in 2024. The next meeting of the forum is planned to take place before March 2022. This will be preceded by the technical team which includes the IGR, DWS and DPWI to engage the new Council and assessing the capacity of the incoming water authority to continue with previous commitments made.
c) It must be noted that it is not the responsibility of DPWI to provide Hoedspruit town with water. It is by default that these services were provided by DPWI. It is the responsibility of the Mopani District Municipality and Maruleng Municipality to provide water services. DPWI is not paid for these services. The Hoedspruit town receives water directly from the DPWI treated water reservoir which was intended to supply the Hoedspruit Air Force Base.
It is not possible to put proper warning systems in place as the consumption from the town is not controlled. DPWI recently established that two estates have constructed their own massive reservoirs with booster pumps connected to the municipal supply piping and sometime they draw water during the night. DPWI requested the municipality to manage its water consumption and that of all estates with massive private reservoirs. All these challenges will be addressed once the municipality takes over the pipeline.