Question NW3538 to the Minister of Water and Sanitation

Reply:

(a-b)The Department is implementing an intervention in terms of Section 63 of the National Water Services Act through the Sedibeng Sewer Scheme Project and Vaal River System Intervention in the Sedibeng District. Rand Water, the Implementing Agent is making satisfactory progress on the various projects that are currently under implementation.

However, sewer spillages in all municipal areas remain a challenge where repairs or unblocking of lines are delayed or where pumpstations are overloaded. Where sewer spillages occur and are brought to the Department’s attention, these are investigated, and Directives issued to rapidly address such pollution incidents. The Department is continuously monitoring the quality of water resources and effluent discharges. In addition, those with water use authorisation are required to meet the norms and standards. The Blue and Green Drop Certification programmes intensify monitoring of municipal service provision by ensuring that the entire value chain is assessed. These assessments enable the Department to have a targeted approach where diagnosis is done on municipal performance. The risks are identified, and water services authorities are required to address root causes.

Though raw water is drawn from rivers and dams, it is treated in Water Treatment Works and the treated water is required by law to meet drinking water standards set by the South African Bureau of Standards in South African National Standard (SANS) 241.

(c) The Department has a five-year reliability plan which identifies levels of access and other aspects of water services standards where a holistic plan is developed and implemented for each water services authority using the District Development Model and the various grant funding streams are used for water and sanitation infrastructure upgrades and refurbishments.

 

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