Question NW2257 to the Minister of Water and Sanitation

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and Nkomazi Local Municipality (LM) conducted a site inspection that included Ericsville and surrounding villages including Ericsville, Ka-Hhoyi, Goba and Mbangwane. The inspection covered six reservoirs (three concrete and three elevated steel tanks) as well as the Masibekela Water Treatment Works.

The water scheme comprises of three phases of 7ML/day per phase producing a total of 21ML/day. The Nkomazi LM reported that 10.5ML of water is supplied to the eastern side of the scheme, which Ericsville is part of, and 10ML of water is supplied though the Sibande Water Supply Scheme on the western side.

However, the Masibekela Water Supply Scheme was damaged by the February 2023 floods which resulted in about 90% of the raw pumping house being submerged in the Komati River. More damage was caused to the two 55kw water pumps were damaged which were subsequently replaced with one emergency 37kw water pump. Due to the reduced capacity of the Masibekela scheme, the Nkomazi LM currently relies on the three 7ML concrete reservoirs that are on southern side of Mbangwane to store and supply water to the community.

The municipality reported that Ericsville has grown rapidly over the years and that the water supply status in the area is as follows:

• There are portions of Ericsville that are reticulated but are not receiving water on a daily basis due to damage sustained by the Masibekela water supply scheme in February 2023.
• The new extension of Ericsville where the 100 households are located, is not yet reticulated and is part of 10 other villages that are supplied by a 18 000L water tanker owned by the municipality.
• The bulk line that supplies reservoirs at Mbangwane also has illegal connections which also contribute to water shortages in Ericsville.
• There are plans for the municipality has plans to procure two more water tankers in the 2023/24 financial year as a short term measure to address water supply shortages.

The municipality also reported that it has received disaster funds R8 million to restore the pumpstation at Masibekela so that can operate at full capacity. While this will not eliminate water shortages for all the households in Ericsville, it will assist the communities that are reticulated to receive water more frequently.

The municipality indicated that it requires R740 million to implement long term interventions to upgrade the water treatment works, bulk and associated infrastructure to ensure the communities in Masibekela are supplied with water sustainably. The DWS will provide financial support of R90 million for reticulation projects in the municipality over the medium term through the Water Supply Infrastructure Grant. The municipality will have to apply to the DWS to access Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant funding for the upgrade of the Masibekela water supply scheme and associated bulk water infrastructure projects.

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