Questions and Replies

Reply:

Several negative factors occurred simultaneously in Gauteng, which resulted in the recent supply problems. These included:

Severe load shedding affected the ability of both Rand Water and Joburg Water to pump water into their reservoirs. This resulted in the water levels in the reservoirs being too low to gravity-feed water to high-lying areas. As a result, a number of high-lying areas were without water for prolonged periods.

A heat water wave which resulted in increased watering of gardens by residents. In addition, the summer rains arrived late, meaning that residents did not swich off their sprinkler systems as they usually do when the summer rains start. These factors combined to result in a spike in water demand. This spike in water demand also made it difficult for the reservoirs to be filled adequately.

Both Rand Water and Joburg Water experienced several electrical and mechanical failures, which also contributed to the difficulty in filling the reservoirs. Some of these failures may have been a result of damage to equipment caused by the frequent load shedding. Two of Rand Water’s purification plants, namely, Zuikerbosh and Vereeniging as well as two major pumps stations (Palmiet and Eikenhof) supplying large parts of the city were affected by power failures. The equipment has since been repaired.

Rand Water’s operating philosophy is to maintain the reservoir levels between 60-80%. This targeted range is intended to enable the system to be resilient and respond to any challenges. Historically, during September to January, water consumption increases exponentially in Gauteng. It was with this understanding that Rand Water wrote to the high consumers, i.e. City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, and City of Ekurhuleni; to encourage reduced consumption in anticipation of the increased demand for water.

Despite these efforts, water consumption continued to increase significantly, and Rand Water’s overall water storage declined from 52% to 38%. Stemming from this decline, a high-level meeting was convened with the Metros to notify them of the intention to apply Stage 1 restrictions. Despite these efforts, water storage levels continued to decline and that prompted Rand Water to apply Stage 2 restrictions. The heatwave also informed the decision to escalate from Stage 1 to 2. The restrictions are necessary to stabilize the system and are aimed at restoring the overall reservoir storage capacity to 60%.

The Department is in the process of temporarily increasing the allocation of water to Rand Water from the Vaal River System, to ensure that the availability of raw water does not become a constraint to Rand Water’s ability to provide treated water during this difficult period.

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Reply:

1a)  Groundwater is the main source of water for domestic supply in the region. The settlements of Koingnaas, Hondeklip Bay and Samson Bak derive water from the Somnaas Noup aquifer located about 20 km north of Koingnaas. Two boreholes, BH 12 and BH 14, are currently in use. A third borehole, BH15 adjacent to BH 12, is equipped and used as a standby borehole.

b) the mining companies use water from the Somnaas-Noup aquifer in the specified municipality.

(2) West coast Resources Pty Ltd: Namaqualand Mine applied for a water use licence which was issued on 23 June 2017. Conditions of the licence includes the following:

• Monitoring: The licensee should establish ground water network monitoring within 1 year from the date of issuance of licence.
• Water Conservation and Water Demand management (WC/WDM): The licensee shall develop WC/WDM and submit to Provincial Head or responsible authority, which amongst other should quantify the water use efficiency of the activity.
• The WC/WDM shall be updated annually and submitted to Provincial Head or responsible authority.
• The licensee shall provide any water user whose water supply is impacted by use with potable water

(3) Please refer to the response above.

(4) It is a prerequisite for any mining licence holder to conduct an environmental impact study to ensure what the effect of mining will be on the water resources. A report on geohydrological impact assessment for West Coast Resources Diamond mining operations along the west coast around Koingnaas, Northern Cape province: was concluded in 2016 with a Ref number: 2016/ENV008, dated July 2016, amongst others the report made the following reference “Groundwater represents the main source of water for domestic supply in the region. The settlements of Koingnaas, Hondeklip Bay and Samson Bak derive water from the Somnaas Noup aquifer located about 20 km north of Koingnaas. Two boreholes, BH 12 and BH 14, are currently in use. A third borehole, BH15 adjacent to BH 12, is equipped and used as a standby borehole”.

a-b) For the town of Koingnaas, the report made the following reference:

• Available water quality data indicate that the entire area proposed for mining is characterised by highly saline groundwater with electrical conductivity of above 1000 mS/m. This is supported by the fact that there are no water supply boreholes around, and south of Koingnaas. Potable groundwater is currently sourced from the Somnaas Noup aquifer located about 20 kilometres north of Koingnaas.

(5) A copy of the licence is attached as Annexure A.

Reply:

1. The main purpose of the Operation Vulindlela is to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery, as such the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is implementing following projects under Operation Vulindela:

• Revival of the Green Drop, Blue Drop and No Drop Assessment Programme: The asessment programmes are aimed at improving the wastewater quality, water supply quality and water use efficiency in all the 144 Water Service Authorities. The Department published the Green Drop report in March 2022 and will publish the Blue and No Drop programme in next financial year.
• Improvement of Water Use Authorisation: The Department is revising the water use authorisation process with the intention being able to process all water use applications within 90 days to ensure economic development and access to water.

• Independent Economic Regulator: The Minister has appointed the Regulator Commission for the period of 3 years. The aim of an independent economic regulator to regulate tariffs, standards, and performance in the water services sector.

2. (a)The department is funding refurbishment of infrastructure through its Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) programme. Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) facilitates achievement of targets for access to bulk water and sanitation through successful execution and implementation of bulk projects of regional significance. The main purpose of this grant amongst others is to:

• To develop new, refurbish, upgrade and replace ageing bulk water and sanitation infrastructure of regional significance that connects water resources to infrastructure serving extensive areas across municipal boundaries or large regional bulk infrastructure serving numerous communities over a large area within a municipality

• To implement bulk infrastructure with a potential of addressing Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WC/WDM) projects or facilitate and contribute to the implementation of local WC/WDM projects that will directly impact on bulk infrastructure requirements. This is achieved through project planning, where diversification of water resources is encouraged as part of calculating the Water Balance to ensure sustainability of supply

(b)The Department undertakes planning studies over different planning horizons, to derive interventions that are implemented to ensure water security for the entire country. These interventions cover the enablers like governance, financing, human capacity building and science and innovation which facilitate implementation of water projects at National, Provincial and District and Local Municipality level. The interventions implemented for our water security are contained in the National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS), the instrument by which the Minister gives effect to the National Water Act, as well as the master plans that emanate from the NWRS. The various studies informing the NWRS are available on the DWS website, at http://www6.dwa.gov.za/iwrp/projects.aspx and the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan (NW&SMP) is available at http://www.dwa.gov.za

The DWS also monitors the capacity of municipalities to deliver water and sanitation through the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment (MuSSA); a web-based system that enables municipalities to conduct their self-assessment on critical aspects service delivery performance. The outcomes of the assessment position the Department and other sector role players to provide targeted support to local government through various support and intervention programmes aimed at improving services delivery, governance and business health. Priority areas are identified and addressed through the development of a Municipal Priority Action Plan (MPAP).

Lastly, Five-Year Reliability Water and Sanitation Plans will soon be rolled out in all forty-four (44) District Municipalities. The plans are meant to:

• Ensure sustainable and reliable water services with the service-standard yardstick that has a 100% compliance to functionality, water security and effective governance to maintain appropriate levels of service delivery
• Conduct primary situational assessments of the water services and infrastructure supply conditions and classify each situation into a reliability category. The solution options are then integrated to proposed projects, specifically integrating all funding programmes to alleviate new infrastructure needs and achieve reliability of water services.

Recently the Department has developed the Water Services Improvement Programme (WSIP). The aim of WSIP is to guide Department in initiating and leading the national support and regulatory interventions to reverse the decline in the provision of water and sanitation services in all municipalities. The programme consists of the following four key elements:

• In terms of the Water Services Act, DWS will issue updated and more comprehensive norms and standards for water and sanitation services.
• DWS will publish a National Regulatory Dashboard showing the extent of compliance with national norms and standards for water services for all Water Service Authorities, drawing on existing monitoring information, including from the Drop reports, NT, and COGTA reports (no new additional reporting requirements will be put on municipalities).
• DWS will develop rolling regional support and intervention plans based on the evidence in the Regulatory Dashboard, managed by its regional offices, in consultation with provincial governments, municipalities and DDM structures.
• The support and intervention plans will draw on a range of support programmes which will be developed at national level.

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Reply:

1)  It should be noted that Doornkop is illegally occupied as the land is owned by Doornkop Communal Property Association (CPA). The area is not yet formalised by the municipality as it is still subject to a land claim. The area is supplied with water through six boreholes which are utilized as the main water source. However, one borehole is not operational due to vandalism. The municipality is in the process of fixing the borehole and is supplementing water supplies through water tankering.

2) The municipality has intervened by providing thirty-five water storage tanks that are servicing Doornkop Village, the tanks are placed in strategic areas across the Doornkop Village. The municipality has seven water tankers that are allocated to supply water to Doornkop Village daily to supplement the boreholes.

3) The municipality is not aware of any notice that was circulated on19 September 2020. On 22 September 2021 the municipality arranged a stakeholder engagement meeting with the community including political parties to try and address the issue of illegal connections through public engagement.

The Municipality officials with the support of the former Member Mayoral Council (MMC) for infrastructure Mr Johannes Matshiane were chased away by the community. The community clearly indicated that they will not allow the municipality to disconnect those who are illegally connected as they need water in their yards not from communal standpipes or tankers. The municipality has put on hold their long term plans due to the pending litigation of the land dispute by the CPA.

4) The existing infrastructure which are boreholes are secured, they are equipped with locks and cannot be tampered with. Currently, the municipality has no intention of hiring security personnel as this is a privately owned land and this would require permission from the CPA.

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Reply:

The amounts spent by the Department of Water and Sanitation to replace and refurbish water infrastructure in the past five financial years were spent on Water Trading Entity infrastructure and not municipal infrastructure where these losses are occuring.

The following amounts have been spent on replacing and/or refurbishing water infrastructure by the Water Trading Entity (WTE):

The following amounts have been spent on replacing and/or refurbishing water infrastructure by the Main Account:

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Reply:

a)  To date, two (2) Boards for Water Boards, have been dissolved. The Board for Amatola Water was dissolved in March 2022 and the Interim Board of Sedibeng Water was automatically dissolved as a result of the disestablishment of Sedibeng Water in July 2022.

b) The process of appointing the new board for Amatola Water has commenced, and it should be finalised before the end of the current financial year.

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Reply:

Engagement is ongoing with the respective Water Service Authorities regarding the need to provide alternative energy supply mechanisms that can minimize the impact of loadshedding, to ensure the citizens constitutional right of access to clean drinking water.

Supported by the department, Water Boards, in their roles as water service providers to water service authorities, have taken different approaches to manage the impact of ESKOM’s loadshedding on their ability to provide reliable bulk water supply services to users, including:

• Engaging with the provincial government leadership and ESKOM in an attempt to negotiate and facilitate for exemption on water infrastructure from frequent load-shedding
• Filing applications with ESKOM for exemption in terms of Eskom Regulation NRS048-9. Some applications for exemption have been successful while some have not been due to technical reasons advanced by ESKOM and some are still waiting for outcomes to the applications.
• Entities such as Bloem Water, Rand Water, Umngeni Water, Lepelle Water and Magalies Water are operating water infrastructure that is exempt from loadshedding and are mostly able to continue with operations.
• Where affordable, some of the entities have procured back-up generators to continue with operations even when there is loadshedding

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Reply:

I am aware of the water supply interruptions at the Rustenburg Local Municipality (LM). An urgent notice was issued by the municipality on 27 September 2022, informing consumers of the expected water interruptions due to load shedding implemented by ESKOM. This has resulted in Water Treatment Plants not operating optimally. The municipality also reported a 40% reduction within the Magalies Water supply system, which has since recovered and is currently operating at 100%. However, the Bospoort system is still operating at 40% supply.

As a relief measure, the municipality began implementing a Water Demand Management Strategy on 14 October 2022. Based on the strategy, water supply is isolated and rotated to specific areas at a time. A schedule of water supply has been issued, detailing the supply times for different areas.

I have been advised that the municipality requested Eskom to exempt the Bospoort area from load shedding to mitigate water supply challenges and meet the current demand. However, Eskom only approved the Bospoort Water Treatment Plant to be exempted for a total of two days. The municipality has since committed to equip the Bospoort Water Treatment Plant with backup power.

I am also aware of the grey water that is supplied to the mines. The supply of treated effluent from the Rustenburg Wastewater Treatment Works to Anglo American and Impala Platinum mines was authorised in the water use authorisations for the mines as a way of promoting the wate re-use. At no point is the treated effluent pumped to any water supply reservoirs.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation engaged with Mkhondo Local Municipality on 10 and 19 October 2022 respectively. The Municipality reported that there has never been a point where there has been muddy water supplied to the community except when the team is busy with pipe repairs and only for a few hours not days or weeks. The Municipality has never received any complaints regarding muddy water in both Wards mentioned above.

Eskom’s load shedding affects the water supply and the low-level water in the reservoirs causes sediments to flow from the reservoirs into the pipeline, and this affects the quality supplied to the community. When the water treatment plants are not operating, water storage reservoirs drop significantly to an extent that remaining water at the water storage reservoirs remain with sediments that are flushed out when water supply is restored.

On occasions when the municipality experiences muddy water, their water quality team collects water samples for analysis to confirm compliance with the drinking water quality standard.

The DWS has been engaging with the municipality on the 2022 Blue Drop Risk Assessment Report published in April 2022. The DWS has requested the municipality to improve on the following:

• The WTW Microbiological report
• Develop water storage reservoirs cleaning programme to all water supply systems within the municipality to prevent sediments in tap water.
• Flush water following major pipe burst to prevent supply of muddy water.

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Reply:

a)  The budget for the R3 billion bulk water project in Giyani was spent as indicated in the table below.

(i) The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) made a referral to the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the HAWKS) on 3 April 2018 for criminal charges against the former Chief Executive Officer of Lepelle Northern Water for contravening the provisions of the Public Finance Act (PFMA). Another referral was made to the NPA for charges against the manager responsible for Planning GIS on 20 September 2018 for collusion, and fraud. The investigation is in progress and no arrests have been made so far.

(ii) No referral was made to the NPA for charges against any politician.

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Reply:

The correlation between performance information and expenditure is a complex matter as the annual performance plan (APP) that is designed to track performance does not necessarily monitor all expenditure items of the Department. The APP is designed to measure activities of strategic importance within a given period even though some activities may have little cost implications.

In an effort of aligning the performance with expenditure, the departmental activities that have the highest budget have several indicators, for example the Regional Bulk Infrastructure and Water Services Infrastructure Grants. The Department is continually improving processes that result in inefficiencies and contribute to the low performance (a case in point is the procurement processes).

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Reply:

The Mopani District Municipality (DM) is a Water Service Authority (WSA) in its area of jurisdiction comprising of five local municipalities (Greater Tzaneen, Ba-Phalaborwa, Greater Letaba, Maruleng and Greater Giyani). The district area has been experiencing water shortages due to various causes, namely:Raw Water Shortages (low level dams)

• Dilapidated and aging infrastructure
• Population growth

The Mopani DM receives funding from the Department through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) schedule 6B and under schedule 5B. The municipality utilises these grants to provide short- and long-term water provision interventions.

The municipality also receives Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) from the Department of Cooperative Governance which they utilise for their water and sanitation projects.

Table 1: Water Provisioning Status and Backlogs in Mopani

The following are projects that are currently being implemented by the Mopani DM through funding from DWS and COGRA (MIG, RBIG and WSIG) to improve water supply services in the short, medium to long term:

• Tours Water Scheme: Bulk Lines refurbishment and Reticulation
• Hoedspruit Bulk Water Supply
• Thapane Regional Water Scheme (Upgrading of Water Reticulation and Extensions)
• Sefofotse to Ditshosine Bulk Water Supply/Ramahlatsi Bulk and Reticulation
• Lulekani Water Scheme (Benfarm)
• Rural Household Sanitation (Maruleng)
• Rural Household Sanitation (Greater Tzaneen LM)
• Rural Household Sanitation (Greater Giyani LM)
• Rural Household Sanitation (Greater Letaba LM)
• Rural Household Sanitation (Ba-Phalaborwa LM)
• Ritavhi 2 Water Scheme (Sub-Scheme 1)
• Giyani Water Reticulation to the outstanding villages
• Refurbishment of the Giyani Water Treatment Works
• Mametja Sekororo RWS Phase 1
• Mametja Sekororo RWS Phase 1A (Edlin)
• Mametja Sekororo RWS Phase 1B (Eternity)
• Mametja Sekororo RWS Phase 2

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Reply:

a)  The Department undertakes planning studies over different planning horizons to derive interventions that are implemented to ensure water security for the entire country. These interventions incorporate enablers like governance, financing, human capacity building and science and innovation that facilitate implementation of water projects at National, Provincial and District and Local Municipality level.

The interventions implemented for our water security are contained in the National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS), the instrument by which the minister gives effect to the National Water Act, as well as the master plans that emanate from the NWRS. The various studies informing the NWRS are available on the DWS website, at http://www6.dwa.gov.za/iwrp/projects.aspx, and the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan (NW&SMP) is available at http://www.dwa.gov.za.

Some of the work done by the department in relation to long term planning includes the development of the:

• Water Reconciliation Strategies
• Five-year Water and Sanitation Reliability Plans for all District Municipalities in South Africa.

The key outputs of the scenario planning are strategies to reconcile water requirements and availability for all large integrated systems in the country as well for localised water resource systems that secure water for small towns, villages, or clusters of settlements. Reconciliation strategies inform water security perspectives into national, provincial, and local planning instruments such as the National Development Plan, NWRS, Provincial Growth and Development Strategy, Water Service Development Plans and vice-versa

The objective of the Five-year Water and Sanitation Reliability Plans for all District Municipalities is to develop a Water and Sanitation Services Situational Assessment of the current service levels and infrastructure referenced to households at community level. The situational assessment information knowledge base is then interpreted into a needs perspective that categorises each supply need and gap analysis into a reliability category. Projects are then identified to address each of the reliability needs classification categories and a funding model developed that enables a five-year pipeline of projects implementation plan that integrates all grant funding. The full development of the plans for all 44 District Municipalities is scheduled to be completed by March 2024.

b) The identified interventions cover the whole country and benefit all the municipalities and communities in the country.

c) The plans extend cover continuous daily and weekly monitoring of water levels, to the Annual Operating Analyses which optimise annual water management, to at least 25-year planning horizons for the water resource reconciliation studies and beyond. The plans conducted as indicated in (a) above provide the direction of strategies for the country’s water security, which are continuously firmed up on a progressive basis to make them dynamic. The plans are continuously monitored and updated every 3 to 5 years to ensure that they remain current and relevant.

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Reply:

1.  The Department of Water and Sanitation (the Department) has a maintenance plan in place for government water schemes which includes all activities to ensure adherence to routine, planned and unplanned maintenance requirements. The maintenance plan is informed by the Asset Management Plan of the Department. Furthermore, the Department has entered into agreements with some Water User Associations (WUAs) and Irrigation Boards (IB) to operate and maintain water schemes to ensure increased water security or sustainable bulk raw water supply for economic and social water users.

2. The Department has, through a competitive bidding process, appointed sixteen (16) mechanical and electrical engineering maintenance contractors for a period of three (3) years, to augment existing capacity.

Reply:

1.  There have been no reports to the Department of Water and Sanitation that there are currently any decants elsewhere. There are also no decants at the Eastern Basin plant where the TCTA is abstracting and pumping from.

The water level in the void is monitored daily and was 43.06 metres below ground level as of 17 October 2022. The DWS has scheduled a site visit on 25 October 2022 to Gravelotte Mines to assess the situation

It should be noted that each mine is responsible for pumping and treating water within its own mining area and ensuring the safety of its personnel and the environment it holds a mining right for.

2. Mine impacted water / acid mine drainage water in the void is tested daily when the plant is operating, and groundwater tests are conducted quarterly through the use of boreholes. Due to the plant being offline, the frequency of ground water testing has been increased from quarterly to monthly.

Depending on the results, the frequency may be increased to ensure the DWS and TCTA monitors possible ground water contamination closely. As the Eastern Basin AMD Treatment plant is offline, no water is currently being treated.

3. Ingress control measures are the mandate of DMRE and as such, DMRE would be in a better position to provide more clarity regarding the projects it is currently working on to reduce the total amount of water flowing into the Witwatersrand voids.

4. (a) The information is made available to the various forums on a regular basis and the Department and TCTA further responds to all stakeholder queries as and when needed.

(b)TCTA in partnership with Gold-One has procured 3 new motors in July 2022 and the factory acceptance tests for the new motors were conducted successfully on 29 September 2022 in China. The motors will be shipped to RSA on 21 October 2022.

A service provider is busy servicing the pump and will also make the modifications to the pump to be compatible with the new motor from China. It is expected that the plant will be operational early December 2022.

(c) The level at the Eastern Basin AMD Treatment plant was 43.06 metres below surface as of 17 October 2022.

(d) The cost of operations and maintenance in the Eastern Basin for the financial year 2021-2022 was R72 million while the cost of repairing the motors to date is R15.5 million.

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Reply:

1.  The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) carries out a number of assessments into the state of water and sanitation infrastructure in the municipalities. These assessments enable the DWS to monitor the condition of municipal water and sanitation infrastructure through three incentive-based regulatory mechanisms:

• The Green Drop Report, which focuses on sanitation (waste-water treatment systems and effluent quality)
• The Blue Drop Report, which focuses on water (water treatment and water quality)
• The No Drop Report, which focuses on non-revenue water and water losses through leakages

Findings of the 2022 Green Drop report 2022 indicated that 334 Wastewater Treatment Systems have been identified to be at critical state by achieving less than 30% during Green Drop Assessment. Letters of non-compliance in terms of green drop report audit findings have been sent to respective water services institutions responsible for the systems at critical state, requiring them to submit a detailed corrective action plans. To date, eighteen (18) municipalities responsible for 81 wastewater treatment systems have submitted action plans. The Department has also collaborated with SALGA and MISA to assist municipalities on the development of action plans.

In line with the National Water Resource Strategy and National Water and Sanitation Masterplan, the Department has also revived the No Drop Programme to facilitate the reduction of Non-Revenue Water and Actual Water Losses. Findings of the No Drop progress report will be published in March 2023. The department is also currently in the process of undertaking blue drop assessments in 1186 water supply systems. The final Detailed Blue Drop Report is targeted for release in March 2023.

The DWS also monitors the capacity of municipalities to deliver water and sanitation through the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment (MuSSA); a web-based system that enables municipalities to conduct their self-assessment on critical aspects service delivery performance. The outcomes of the assessment position the Department and other sector role players to provide targeted support to local government through various support and intervention programmes aimed at improving services delivery, governance and business health. Priority areas are identified and addressed through the development of a Municipal Priority Action Plan (MPAP).

Lastly, Five-Year Reliability Water and Sanitation Plans will soon be rolled out in all forty-four (44) District Municipalities. The plans are meant to:

• Ensure sustainable and reliable water services with the service-standard yardstick that has a 100% compliance to functionality, water security and effective governance to maintain appropriate levels of service delivery
• Conduct primary situational assessments of the water services and infrastructure supply conditions and classify each situation into a reliability category. The solution options are then integrated to proposed projects, specifically integrating all funding programmes to alleviate new infrastructure needs and achieve reliability of water services.

2. According to Division of Revenue Act and grants frameworks, the Regional Bulk Infrastructure and Water Services Infrastructure Grants; managed by the DWS; do not fund any works related to operation and maintenance.

The department is looking at the current conditions of certain infrastructure and approached National Treasury to repurpose some portion of Regional Bulk Infrastructure and Water Services Infrastructure Grants to assist in the operation and maintenance of infrastructure.

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Reply:

1.  The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) carries out a number of assessments into the state of water and sanitation infrastructure in the municipalities. These assessments enable the DWS to monitor the condition of municipal water and sanitation infrastructure through three incentive-based regulatory mechanisms:

• The Green Drop Report, which focuses on sanitation (waste-water treatment systems and effluent quality)
• The Blue Drop Report, which focuses on water (water treatment and water quality)
• The No Drop Report, which focuses on non-revenue water and water losses through leakages

Findings of the 2022 Green Drop report 2022 indicated that 334 Wastewater Treatment Systems have been identified to be at critical state by achieving less than 30% during Green Drop Assessment. Letters of non-compliance in terms of green drop report audit findings have been sent to respective water services institutions responsible for the systems at critical state, requiring them to submit a detailed corrective action plans. To date, eighteen (18) municipalities responsible for 81 wastewater treatment systems have submitted action plans. The Department has also collaborated with SALGA and MISA to assist municipalities on the development of action plans.

In line with the National Water Resource Strategy and National Water and Sanitation Masterplan, the Department has also revived the No Drop Programme to facilitate the reduction of Non-Revenue Water and Actual Water Losses. Findings of the No Drop progress report will be published in March 2023. The department is also currently in the process of undertaking blue drop assessments in 1186 water supply systems. The final Detailed Blue Drop Report is targeted for release in March 2023.

The DWS also monitors the capacity of municipalities to deliver water and sanitation through the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment (MuSSA); a web-based system that enables municipalities to conduct their self-assessment on critical aspects service delivery performance. The outcomes of the assessment position the Department and other sector role players to provide targeted support to local government through various support and intervention programmes aimed at improving services delivery, governance and business health. Priority areas are identified and addressed through the development of a Municipal Priority Action Plan (MPAP).

Lastly, Five-Year Reliability Water and Sanitation Plans will soon be rolled out in all forty-four (44) District Municipalities. The plans are meant to:

• Ensure sustainable and reliable water services with the service-standard yardstick that has a 100% compliance to functionality, water security and effective governance to maintain appropriate levels of service delivery
• Conduct primary situational assessments of the water services and infrastructure supply conditions and classify each situation into a reliability category. The solution options are then integrated to proposed projects, specifically integrating all funding programmes to alleviate new infrastructure needs and achieve reliability of water services.

2. According to Division of Revenue Act and grants frameworks, the Regional Bulk Infrastructure and Water Services Infrastructure Grants; managed by the DWS; do not fund any works related to operation and maintenance.

The department is looking at the current conditions of certain infrastructure and approached National Treasury to repurpose some portion of Regional Bulk Infrastructure and Water Services Infrastructure Grants to assist in the operation and maintenance of infrastructure.

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Reply:

1.  According to City of Johannesburg (COJ), two of Rand Water’s purification plants, namely, Zuikerbosh and Vereeniging as well as two major pumps stations (Palmiet and Eikenhof) supplying large parts of the city were affected by power failures. The municipality’s entity, Joburg Water, reported that Eikenhof system was not being operated to full capacity to boost the Palmiet system which was at a critical level. This has resulted in portions of the Eikenhof system, which supplies Crosby, Brixton, Hurst Hill, Crown Gardens and Eagles Nest systems to collapse completely on 4 October 2022.

During engagements with Rand Water, it was agreed that the Eikenhof system should be operated at full capacity and to no longer sustain the Palmiet system. This resulted in flows to Crosby, Brixton and Hurst Hill reservoirs being improved.

2. Yes, the Treaty between South Africa and Lesotho remains in force. The project generates hydroelectricity for the benefit of Lesotho citizens, while water is transferred to meet the water needs of South Africans. This water meets 60% of Gauteng’s water demand.

a) Rand Water’s operating philosophy is to maintain the reservoir levels between 60- 80%. This targeted range is intended to enable the network system to be resilient and respond to any challenges. Historically, during September to January, water consumption increases exponentially in Gauteng. It was with this understanding that wrote to the high consumers; City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, and City of Ekurhuleni; to encourage and plead for reduced consumption in anticipation of the increased demand for water. Despite these efforts, water consumption continued to increase significantly.

Rand Water’s overall water storage declined from 52% to 38%. Stemming from this decline, a meeting was convened with the Metros to notify them of the intention to apply Stage 1 restrictions. Despite these efforts, water storage levels continued to decline and that prompted Rand Water to apply Stage 2 restrictions. The anticipated heatwave informed the decision to escalate from Stage 1 to 2 (. The restrictions are necessary to stabilize the system and avoid total collapse of the systems.

b) It must be noted that Rand Water’s water treatment plants and booster sites are exempt from loadshedding. However, there are two (2) tertiary booster sites in the network that are subjected to loadshedding where diesel generators are used to manage the impact of loadshedding.

The approach for implementing restrictions involves communication on implementation of restrictions to all municipalities that are supplied by Rand Water and to implement restrictions to the three Metros which utilise approximately 80% of Rand Water’s supply, as well as:

• • Identifying major meters under each municipality that will be restricted (53 meters under Johannesburg, 57 under Ekurhuleni and 28 under Tshwane).
  • These meters are monitored over a period of two weeks to assess and review progress to achieve the desired results. As for the current stages two (30%) water supply restrictions that has been implemented effective from 04 October 2022, will be reviewed
  • If the performance of Rand Water’s supply has not improved after two weeks, the review of the implemented water supply restrictions will dictate if other municipalities will be included
• If the performance of Rand Water’s supply does improve after two weeks, the review of the implemented water supply restrictions will dictate reduction to stage one (10%) or removal of restrictions.

These restrictions are aimed at restoring the overall reservoir storage capacity to approximately 60%. Rand Water has formally consulted with the affected municipalities to inform them of its intention to implement the restrictions. The situation is reviewed on an hourly basis and where improvements are made, Rand Water lifts the restrictions to provide reprieve. Rand Water’s consultation with the customers is designed to ensure that no areas are left without water for a prolonged period.

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Reply:

The Bela-Bela Local Municipality has been experiencing water supply disruptions owing to the impact of load shedding by ESKOM. The water purification plant is dependent on electricity to pump water from the source to the treatment plant and from the reservoirs to the network reticulation system.

Ageing infrastructure creates also exacerbates the problem of water shortages due to regular pipe bursts which contributes to water losses and shortages in the area.

The municipality is currently implementing water restrictions as and when necessary, because of high-water demand. Availability of water depends on the reservoir levels to avoid a situation where the taps would run dry.

The Bela-Bela Local Municipality has indicated that steps are taken to notify the community timeously about water supply interruptions.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation completed a feasibility study in 2013 for a long-term solution for Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the Witwatersrand as per recommendation of the 2011 Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) report. The long-term solution that was recommended involved further treatment of the partially treated water currently produced in the AMD treatment plants through desalination for beneficial socio-economic uses. The department commenced with preparations towards implementation of the long-term solution in 2017, but this was later put on hold due to budget constraints.

The department recognises that a significant amount of time has passed from when the feasibility study was first finalised, and for this reason is currently completing other studies to ensure the relevance of the recommendations made in 2013. This work will culminate in a revised long-term solution to be considered for implementation.

Although financial constraints remain a major challenge, the Department is also in the process to re-establish the Technology Demonstration Programme (TDP) which was also put on hold with the long-term solution in 2017. The programme is being undertaken in partnership with other stakeholders such as Water Research Commission and Department of Science and Technology and is exploring alternative technologies which can provide solutions for the AMD problem in the long-term. The TDP will be integrated with the work done by the Development Bank of South Africa through the National Water Programme.

This process will take time as proper technology selection is imperative in ensuring the most cost-effective, technologically sound, and environmentally friendly solution is implemented.

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Reply:

(1)  The residents of Ogunjini in Ward 59 of eThekwini Metro have been receiving water supply from a 1Ml/day Ogunjini water treatment works. A project implemented by the eThekwini Metro to upgrade the treatment plant to 2Ml/day is planned for completion by September 2023.

Eight 16 000 litre water tankers with a minimum of two loads per day, have been permanently deployed to the area by the eThekwini Metro. It is expected that this current deployment plan will remain in force until the completion of the treatment works upgrade.

(2) a) The current average cost per tanker to supply the community with water is estimated at R4 000 per day.

b) The cost to sink a borehole is estimated at R331,000 per borehole at varying capacity outputs to be determined upon testing.

(3) The municipality is currently implementing an emergency borehole rehabilitation and installation programme while a full roll-out of the programme is at tender stage. The Ogunjini areas have also been considered for this programme.

(4) The Department of Water and Sanitation will continue to monitor the water services supplied to the area by the Ethekwini Metro and provide support if required.

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Reply:

The Department aims to publish compulsory National Water and Sanitation norms and standards for public consultation drafted under Section 9 of the Water Services Act, No 108 of 1997. In the draft norms and standards, there is a provision for grey water management. It is therefore critical for the public and various stakeholders to provide comments once the regulations are published to shape these regulations to provide necessary guidance on how water and sanitation can be managed and provided efficiently.

Mitigation measures can be addressed by various water services authorities (WSAs) as prescribed in the Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000 under section 76 which prescribes mechanisms for provision of services. This section empowers the WSAs to provide these services based on the situation in a particular municipality on how water and sanitation services can be provided, and these includes grey water management, water reclamation, decentralised systems such as septic tanks among others.

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Reply:

1.  The Musina and Makhado Local Municipalities (LM) fall within the jurisdiction of Vhembe District Municipality (VDM). The VDM is the Water Service Authority (WSA) and Water Service Provider (WSP) to the two local municipalities. A total of three (3) complaints were received regarding (i) two (2) sewer spillages from manholes in the Makhado and Musina and; (ii) uncontrolled discharge of effluent from the Harper wastewater treatment works (WWTW) which is disturbing the construction of a nearby road. Both incidents from the manholes have since been resolved.

The 2022 Green Drop Report raised concerns regarding the overall poor state of wastewater services at Biaba, Waterval, Hlanganani, Makhado, Malamulele, Mhinga, Musina, Mutale, Nancefield, Rietvlei, Tshifulanani, Vleifontein and Vuwani systems and the consequential impact on respective water resources. A letter of non-compliance has been issued for the Water Services Authority to submit a detailed corrective action plan within 60 days of publishing the Green Drop Report. The plan must map the activities, responsible persons, timelines, and expected improvements as outlined in the Regulations. To date, no report has been received to date and the Department is engaging the WSA together with MISA and SALGA as indicated below.

In addition, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) conducted compliance monitoring Inspections at Musina WWTW Nancefield (08 March 2022) and Rietvlei WWTW (07 March 2022) to check compliance against the conditions of issued water use licences for these WWTWs. An investigation was also conducted on the 18 August 2022 at the Campbell sewage package plant an to ensure compliance of National Water Act.

• The DWS has issued directives to VDM for non-compliance of the following wastewater systems that are under Musina and Makhado LMs:Musina WWTW and Nancefield WWTW - issued on the 25 March 2022
• Harper WWTW and Makhado WWTW - issued on the 06 September 2021
• Campbell sewage package plant - issued on the10 August 2022In response to the directives issued by the DWS, the Vhembe District Municipality has developed the corrective action plans to address challenges with the WWTWs. Actions to be taken by the VDM include:refurbishment of the WWTW systems
• Improvement operation and maintenance of the existing infrastructure

Furthermore, the DWS has approved business plans to fund the refurbishment projects through the Water Service Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) within the current financial year. The department is monitoring the implementation of the projects which are still at initiation stage and expected to be completed by end of municipal financial year 2022/23.

(2) Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality falls within the jurisdiction of Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) which assume responsibility of water and sanitation services as the WSA and WSP. Four complaints were received from Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality regarding pollution emanating from Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW). Administrative actions were taken against Sekhukhune District Municipality as a Water Service Authority for Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality.

• Moganyaka Oxidation Ponds for which the DWSissued notice of intention to issue a directive dated 29 October 2021;– a follow up inspection was conducted on 15 June 2022 by the department who found that the issues identified in the notice had not been addressed. A directive is being prepared.

• Dennilton WWTW for which the DWS issued notice of intention to issue a directive dated 31 July 2019; the department conducted a follow up inspection on 08 June 2022 to ascertain compliance with the provisions of the NWA. The municipality was further non-compliant with the directive in terms of Sections 19(3) and 53(1) of the National Water Act, 1998 which is an offence in terms of Section 151(1)(d) of the NWA. The case has been referred for an interdict against Sekhukhune District Municipality to ensure compliance with the directive for the Dennilton WWTW. Therefore, the Department has opened a criminal case for offences outlined in Section 151(1)(d), (i) and (j)) of the NWA. The criminal case will be opened against the Sekhukhune DM.

• Nebo Oxidation Ponds in relation to a directive dated 04 May 2021; - DWS officials conducted a follow up inspection was conducted on 13 August 2020 and 05 November 2021 to ascertain compliance with a directive issued by the DWS. Most of the non-compliances had been rectified and the ponds were empty. The municipality indicated that the Oxidation Ponds will be utilized soon. The department officials recommended that the facility should be monitored continuously to ensure compliance with the directive issued to Greater Sekhukhune Municipality.

• Ephraim Mogale WWTW in relation to a notice of intention to issue a directive dated 29 December 2021; DWS officials conducted a follow up inspection on 15 June 2022 to ascertain compliance with the provisions of NWA. A directive will be issued.

• The 2022 Green Drop Report indicates that Marble Hall Wastewater system declined from a 62.3% score in 2013 to a 52% score in 2022. The inspectorate observed a lack of co-ordination amongst Lepelle Water (which is responsible for the Operation and Maintenance of four (4) WWTWs including Burgersfort, Groblersdal, Marble Hall, Steelpoort) and the WSA, which was noticeable during assessments. Plants operated by Lepelle Water achieved Green Drop scores of between 46% and 58% indicating a decline from 2013 Green Drop scores.

There were no compensation claims submitted to Vhembe DM regarding loss and/or health issues however the department availed funds to Vhembe DM through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to refurbish and improve operations and maintenance of the wastewater systems.

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Reply:

1. The Minister of Water and Sanitation is aware of the water supply shortages of water supply within the Polokwane Local Municipality particularly within the Polokwane City, the surrounding suburbs and Seshego township.

Polokwane LM receives daily water supply from three major sources comprising of the Ebenezer Water Treatment Works (WTW), Olifantspoort WTW and Dalmada WTW. The Ebenezer and Olifasproot plants are operated by the Lepelle Northern Water Board (LNWB) while Dalmada WTW is operated by Polokwane LM.

Polokwane City and Seshego has a total demand of 96.5 Ml/d and all possible sources can only supply the city with 88.4Ml/d and currently there is a deficit of 8.1 Ml/d. The city is authorized to abstract and or to treat 29.4 Ml/d while LNWB supplies 27 Ml/d from Olifastsproot WTW and 32 Ml/d from Ebenezer WTW.

Water supply to the Polokwane LM is also augmented through boreholes, some of which are non-operation and require repairs as indicated below:

• Sand River North: all fifteen (15) Boreholes are operational. Polokwane LM is pumping the boreholes in alternative to allow some of the boreholes to recharge and the total yield of the boreholes is 4.8 Ml/d
• Seshego Boreholes (Direct to Reticulation): out of six (6) boreholes, two (2) are not operational due to vandalism and the municipality is currently repairing the borehole.
• Marshall Boreholes: all five (5) boreholes are operational and currently producing 3.8 Ml/d

The WTWs supplying Polokwane are faced with challenges that impact on the ability of the municipality to supply water consistently to all residents as follows:

• The Ebenezer WTW
  • The plant is operated by LNWB and is highly affected by general interruption of electricity, currently affecting optimal water supply countrywide, which is supplied by the Greater Tzaneen LM
  • Greater Tzaneen LM is currently upgrading electricity infrastructure which supplies the Ebenezer WTW and discussions to explore whether Greater Tzaneen LM can isolate Ebenezer WTW from load shedding are underway
• Olifanspoort WTW
  • The plant is operated by LNWB is impacted negatively by the Olifantspoort ageing bulk water supply network contributes significantly to the interruption of water supply in the City of Polokwane.
  • The main cause of the water supply challenges in Polokwane City was due to deficiencies of the pumping systems of the Olifantspoort scheme. There were mechanical breakdowns within Pump Station No 2 and Pump Station No 3 which have since been repaired.
    • The LNWB has already commissioned Phase 1 for the upgrade and refurbishment of this bulk pipeline, a cost of R 32 million. Phase 2 which has been allocated R 38 and is meant to refurbish aging infrastructure will be completed by the end of October 2022
• The Dalmada WTW
  • This plant, which is operated by the City of Polokwane, has a pipeline that conveys raw water from Dap Naude sections of which is critically dilapidated.
  • A study that was done in 2019 has confirmed a need for refurbishment and upgrade of the pipeline to enable Polokwane LM to safely abstract of 14Ml/d from the dam, which would add 4.1Ml to the supply
  • The Implementation Readiness Studies for the refurbishment and upgrades is under consideration by the department.

• Seshego WTW

• • There is a 1.8 Ml/d deficiency in the system due to the new Seshego WTW Plant currently being non-operational while under construction.

To ensure proper resolution of the water supply plaguing the Polokwane LM, a task team led by both Deputy Ministers, the Executive Major of Polokwane and Chairperson of the Board of LNWB has been set up to resolve water supply challenges in the Polokwane LM. A technical task team led by the Municipal Manager of Polokwane LM, the Chief Executive Officer of LNWB and DWS officials has also been established. The task team will meet weekly to track progress on the restoration of water supply to Polokwane City including the Seshego township. The implementation of the action plan is at 85% and all major challenges are being resolved.

2. A joint media briefing was held by both Polokwane LM, LNWB and the department on 5 September 2022. Furthermore, the Polokwane LM continues to update residents of Polokwane City including Seshego township on any development regarding the state of water supply.

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Reply:

There are several programmes through which the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) monitors adverse water quality impact on the country’s water resources such as the:

• National Chemical Monitoring Programme (NCMP)
• National Eutrophication Monitoring Programme (NEMP)
• National Microbial Monitoring Programme (NMMP)
• River Eco-status Monitoring Programme (REMP)
• National Estuaries Monitoring Programme (NEsMP)

Sludge monitoring is also essential as poor sludge handling is the root cause of many Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTWs) failing to meet final effluent standards. The results indicate that the municipalities on average are not achieving regulatory norms and standards. The data from the Green Drop Report indicated that 64% of all Water Services Authorities (WSAs) have access to credible laboratories for compliance and operational analysis. These in-house or contracted laboratories have been accredited and have Proficiency Testing Schemes with suitable analytical methods and quality assurance. The remaining 46% of WSAs are not meeting the regulatory norms and standards in terms of which they should have access to analytical services for compliance, operational and sludge monitoring.

To improve this situation, the department has developed the Water Services Improvement Programme and is progressively implementing programmes to support municipalities together with the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) and South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA).

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Reply:

Sources of water supply to Makhado in Louis Trichardt are the Albasini Water Treatment Works (WTW) and fourteen (14) supplementary boreholes. Of the fourteen (14) boreholes, only four (4) are currently operational asthe remaining ten (10) are non-functional as they have been vandalized. The design capacity of the WTW plant is 10ML/ day and is currently producing 7ML/day.

The Albasini Water Treatment Works was forced to shut down on 02 October 2022 due to failure of booster pump station number 3 and leaking of a galvanised pipe at the plant. This resulted in a shortage of water supply to Makhado. However, the repairs have been effected and the WTW has been functioning from 05 October 2022.

The DWS and the Vhembe District Municipality are currently constructing a bulk pipeline from Nandoni via Vuwani and Valdezia to Makhado to supply water to Makhado Area. The project scope includes the construction of a 88Km bulk pipeline, five reservoirs and three pumpstations.

Progress on the project is currently at 90% and completion is planned by March 2023. This project will also incorporate the Albasini water supply system, and replacement of the aged pipeline that is contributing to high water losses.

The department has initiated planning for the upgrade of Nandoni Water Treatment Works from 60Ml/d to 120ML/d to augment water supply as part of a long-term solution for water supply to the Makhado Area.

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Reply:

a)  Twenty-one (21) licences are allocated to mining plants in the Northern Cape for iron ore (9), manganese (10) as well as manganese and iron ore (2) as indicated in the table below:

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) recently published the 2022 Green Drop Report which gives a detailed overview of the state of Wastewater Management in the country. The report presents an extremely concerning situation across the country, and that wastewater management has deteriorated notably since 2014.

a) The Department of Water and Sanitation has taken steps to capacitate Water Service Authorities in collaboration with the South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA) through:

• Capacitating the Water and Sanitation Portfolio based Councillors throughout their term.
• Ensuring adequate wastewater operations and maintenance capacity through the training of Process Controllers. The department will, in collaboration with the Energy and Water Sector Training Authority (EWSETA) facilitate training of Process Controllers in order to comply with the required Wastewater Quality Management regulations.
• Ensuring that all wastewater management environmental hazards are mapped and mitigated

Furthermore, the department together with SALGA embarked on the Water and Sanitation Councillor Induction from May to August 2022 across the country. Wastewater Quality Management and Drinking Water Management themes were part of the inductions.

b) (i) Key focus areas identified in the report include the following:

• Technical competence
• Treatment capacity
• Wastewater monitoring and compliance
• Operation, Maintenance and Refurbishment of Assets

(ii) Key areas of concern identified during the Green Drop Assessments will be addressed in the following ways:

• The DWS is in the process of finalising the amendments to regulations relating to compulsory national standards for process controllers and water services works. The regulations seek to ensure that the water services works are classified according to their technology type to determine the level of skill required for operations by process controllers.
• Process controllers who are skilled in both qualifications and years of experience must be registered to operate a relevant water service works based on their class of certificate.
• The DWS is putting in place a Water Services Improvement Programme (WSIP) to strengthen its support and intervention at municipal level based on actual data or most available data. The aim of the programme is to ensure that support and intervention at municipal level is proactive, consistent, and systematic.
• Maintenance and refurbishment of Wastewater Treatment Works is the primary responsibility of the responsible Water Service Authorities (WSAs). However, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) works together with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to ensure that municipalities receive the necessary support and grant funding to refurbish and maintain their assets.
• The DWS also funds certain refurbishment and upgrading projects that meet the criteria of the different funding programs such as Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). Some of the specified WWTW have been gradually included in these programs depending on availability of funds availed to the Regions.
• COGTA also supports WSAs through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) for water and sanitation services, amongst other. Some of the funding has been allocated for the refurbishment of some of WWTW.

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Reply:

(1-2) The Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (LM) has advised the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) that there are villages that do not have reliable access to water due to leakages caused by illegal connections, which results in the the supply system not being able to cater for all villages. The municipality has implemented a rationing programme to ensure that all residents have access to water. The Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is implementing a project to replace the asbestos pipeline which is due for completion during the 2024/25 financial year.

(3)(a) It is anticipated that the project to replace the asbestos pipeline will be completed during the 2024/25 financial year. The municipality is currently implementing a project to install an additional clear water pump at the Hoxane WTW which will increase the volumes pumped by the plant from 22 Ml/day to 31 Ml/day to the Ndonga reservoir that supplies all the villages being enquired about.

(b) The municipality has a duty to ensure that the farmers and residents are connected legally and to take legal actions against individuals that are vandalising infrastructure.

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Reply:

1.  The department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is aware of water from the mine void in the Eastern Basin entering an opencast pit. It should be noted that mining operations are responsible for dewatering their own operations, not the DWS. This responsibility has been recognised by Gold One who are procuring pumps to assist in the pumping and treatment of acid mine drainage in the Eastern Basin.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) is the implementing agent for DWS on this project. The pumps were procured from Andritz in Germany. Andritz had a proven track record in the supply of these submersible pumps worldwide and the first 2 pumps were donated by Central Rand Gold, who at that stage wished to mine to a depth of 450 m in the Central Basin. Additional pumps were sourced from the same supplier to ensure compatibility and to allow the pumps to be moved between the basins as required.

(a) Due to Covid-19 and the related global supply chain challenges, TCTA was not able to secure all the spares from Andritz in time to enable the continued pumping at the Eastern Basin AMD Plant. A decision was made to concentrate pumping and treatment in the Western and Central Basins as once the Eastern Basin becomes operational again it has the capacity to recover.

(b) (i)Nafasi Water Technologies (Pty) Ltd was appointed by the TCTA through a competitive process, on a 5-year contract to operate and maintain the AMD Plants for the Central and Eastern Basins including the AMD pumps.

(ii) The spares for the first motor were received in June 2022 (planned for December 2021) and the refurbishment of the first motor commenced in July 2022 by Marthinus and Coutts and was completed mid-August 2022 as planned. The motor was installed and commissioned by Carl Harm in August 2022 but was only in operation for 1 week before it started stalling and this necessitated the motor to be taken back to the workshop for a detailed inspection.   

(iii) The cost of operations and maintenance in the Eastern Basin for the financial year 2021-2022 was R72 million

2. The TCTA is responsible for the sourcing of critical spares from the original equipment suppliers in order to maintain the warranties for the various installed equipment.  

((i)In addition, the refurbishment of the motors and pumps is being done locally through the following service providers:

• Marthinus & Coutts based in Cleverland, Johannesburg.
• Sulzer - Local Branch
• Carl Harm (Andritz local installer)

(ii-iii) The TCTA in partnership with Gold-One has procured 3 new motors in July 2022 and the factory acceptance tests for the new motors were conducted successfully on 29 September 2022 in China and the motors will be shipped to RSA on 7 October 2022. TCTA is evaluating the option to airfreight one of these motors so that it can be delivered to site within 10 days. Parallel to this process, Sulzer is busy reassembling the pump to be compatible with the new motor from China. If successful, these plans will enable the TCTA to commission one pump by the end of October 2022 and the other two pumps will be commissioned early December 2022.  

3. TCTA has not released any non-treated acid mine water to the Blesbokspruit since the commencement of operations.

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Reply:

(1)(a-c)The department has been advised that there are villages that do not have twenty-four hour access to water due to leakages caused by unauthorised and illegal connections, which also impacts the water pressure and adequate supply to villages. The municipality has a rationing programme in place to ensure that all residents have access to water. Bushbuckridge Local Municipality has been advised to implement the water conservation and water demand management and COGTA is part of the Task Team to ensure that it is implemented in order to ensure water availability to communities.

(d) The municipality has a duty to enforce its by-laws by ensuring that farmers and residents that have illegally connected into the water infrastructure are held liable through penalties to curb and regulate water consumption.

2. The Bushbuckridge Local Municipality has reported that there are two boreholes supplying villages in the Bushbuckridge area, furthermore, one is functional and the other one in the Buyelani Village, had to be decommissioned due to frequent vandalism. This village receives water through bulk water supply, although it is also impacted by the illegal connections. Once the Hoxani Bulk water scheme is finalised, water supply will improve in the long term.

3. As indicated above, the municipality is not able to meet the demand for water supply due to unauthorised connections and water losses. However, there is an ongoing project to replace the asbestos pipeline which is planned for completion in the 2024/25 financial year. The replacement of the asbestos pipeline with a steel pipeline will significantly reduce water losses and improve water supply to the area.

The municipality is also implementing a project to install an additional clear water pump at the Hoxane WTW which will increase the volumes pumped by the plant from 22 Ml/day to 31 Ml/day to the Ndonga reservoir that supplies the villages in Bushbuckridge. The Hoxani Bulk Water Supply Scheme project, which is due to commence at the beginning of 2023/24, will also improve water supply to the villages in Bushbuckridge when is completed. The completion of the Hoxani Bulk water scheme will increase the water supply to full capacity of 36 Ml/day.

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Reply:

The NWRS-3 will be finalised and approved on 31 March 2023 as outlined on the Department’s Annual Performance Plan.

The Department is currently conducting public consultation workshops on the draft National Water Resource Strategy 3 (NWRS-3) as required by the National Water Act (NWA). Call for public consultation was done through the Gazette Notice which was published on 27 July 2022 under Notice 47133. After public consultation, the document will be updated based on the comments received from various stakeholders and a final document will be submitted to Cabinet for approval.

While there has been a delay in finalising and publishing the NWRS-3, the NWRS-2 is still being implemented by the Department, it’s entities as well as the entire water and sanitation sector stakeholders. Therefore, the Department has not neglected its responsibility to protect, use, develop, conserve, manage and control the country’s water resources.

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Reply:

a)  The Joe Gqabi District Municipality (JGDM) operates twelve (12) Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in the Walter Sisulu and Senqu Local Municipalities. The status of the WWTW and pump stations is as follows:

(i) Details regarding the state of the WWTW:

• In the Walter Sisulu LM, there are six (6) wastewater treatment plants of which five (5) are functional and one (1) is non-functional
• In the Senqu LM, there are six (6) wastewater treatment plants, five (5) are functional and one is non-functional.

(ii) Details regarding the state of the Pump Stations:

• In the Walter Sisulu LM, there are eight (8) pumpstations, four (4) are funtional and the other four (4) are non-functional
• In the Senqu LM, there are five (5) pumpstations that are all functional.

b) Reasons for failures of the WWTW were mostly due to mechanical and electrical failures as well as theft and vandalism of electrical equipment and cables, particularly at pump stations in the Walter Sisulu LM.

c) Funding has been availed from various sources; including the District Municipality’s internal funds, Water Services Infrastructure Grant and Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant from Department of Water and Sanitation; to facilitate the repairs of the non-functional plants. Progress is as follows:

• New pumps have been purchased by the Walter Sisulu LM to replace the non-functional pumps
• Repairs were recently completed to WWTWs in at Oviston, Venterstad in the Walter Sisulu LM and and Herschel in the Senqu LM
• A contractor to refurbish the Steynsburg WWTW in the Walter Sisulu LM has been appointed and is already on site
• Project plans are awaiting approval for the refurbishment of the Sterkspruit WWTW in the Senqu municipality
• The Joe Gqabi DM has responded well to the notices and directives issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and will be reprioritising the WSIG funds to address the challenges

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Reply:

a)  (i) The initial estimated cost for the project was R 1,2 billion.

(ii) The total amount spent on the project was R 1,7 million.

b) The project comprises on the replacement of 80km of pipeline, the installation of pressure release valves and construction of chlorination building. These works were completed and the pipeline is functional

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Reply:

1.  The constitutional responsibility for providing water and sanitation services rests with local government. The Department of Water and Sanitation regulates how these services are provided, monitors and supports municipalities providing water services and has a duty to intervene where national norms and standards are not met.

As indicated in the recent Green Drop and Blue Drop assessments, Municipal water services are in decline in many municipalities and government’s constitutional obligation to progressively provide safe water and a healthy environment for everyone is being compromised. In many cases, water and sanitation infrastructure is in a critical state due to inadequate investment and maintenance.

As mandated by the Constitution and other relevant legislation, the DWS has developed a Water Services Improvement Programme (WSIP) to strengthen its support and intervention at municipal level.

The aim of the programme is to support municipalities and intervene more consistently and systematically to address water and sanitation service delivery challenges. The overall aim of this initiative is to guide, initiate and lead national government support and regulatory interventions to reverse the decline in the provision of water and sanitation services in all municipalities.

Interventions being implemented by the DWS in Qwaqwa, Butterworth and Hammanskraal of the DWS

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Reply:

(1) The source of drinking water for Doornkop area is potable water that is supplied through a reticulation network system from Doornkop Reservoir. The water supply capacity and infrastructure servicing Doornkop is deemed adequate as there have been no documented prolonged water outages that could point to supply limitations.

(2) Information received from Johannesburg Water is that there are no boreholes in Doornkop. The City of Johannesburg Water supplies water to the informal settlements in the area through standpipes or stationary water tanks which are filled by mobile water tankers on a regular basis.

(3) Not applicable.

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Reply:

The Bushbuckridge villages have access to water through the Hoxane Water Treatment Works, Inyaka bulk water supply system and through boreholes. There are two boreholes, one of which has been decommissioned due to frequent vandalism.

(a) (i) The community does not have reliable access to water due to leakages caused by illegal connections, which results in the supply system not being able to cater for all villages. The municipality has implemented a rationing programme to ensure that all residents have access to water.

The water rationing programme has been communicated to all communities through ward councillors and any shutdowns that impact on the water supply are communicated timeously through the municipality’s communications systems.

(ii) The Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is currently in a process of data cleansing to verify all households where meters were installed for billing purposes. This process should be completed by the end of the current financial year so that billing can commence in the beginning of the next financial year (2022/2023). 

(b) The municipality is implementing a project to replace the asbestos pipeline with steel pipeline, it is anticipated that the project will be completed during the 2024/25.

(c) The Municipality is implementing its Water Conservation and Demand Management strategy (WCDM) and Water Services by-laws which are undergoing the process of gazetting. The municipality has initiated the procurement processes to appoint service providers.

The WCDM Strategy includes projects such as:

• Installation of bulk flow meters to conduct water balance and to identify water loss hotspots
• Purchase of leak detectors to detect leakages
• Installation of reservoirs level controls valves to prevent reservoirs overflows
• Installation of lockable valves chambers to prevent valves interferences, telemetry system to monitor pressures in the bulk network
• Removal of illegal connections to reduce non-revenue water and improve water supply status

(d) The municipality is currently implementing a project to install an additional clear water pump at the Hoxane Water Treatment Plant which will increase the volumes pumped by the plant from 22 Ml/day to 31 Ml/day to the Ndonga Reservoir that supplies the villages. The Hoxani Bulk Water Supply Scheme project, which is due to commence at the beginning of 2023/24, will also improve water supply to the villages in Bushbuckridge when is completed.

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Reply:

1.  South Africa is a water scarce country, where everyone is affected by the limited water resources. My department undertakes various water resources and services planning studies and implements interventions or programmes to provide water to all citizens.

Due to the holistic and inclusive approach, areas that had historically been unserved have gradually seen service level improvements, as shown from the STATSSA data reflected in the General Household Survey. Much remains to be done, but a lot has been accomplished.

• The General Household Survey (GHS 2021) figures for basic water supply reflect a figure of 88% (64% in 1994) limited coverage of water infrastructure in South Africa. That is, drinking water from an improved source provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip including queuing
• The General Household Survey (GHS 2021) figures for basic Level of Service is currently at 83% (49% in 1994). This includes use of improved facilities which are not shared with other households.

The Water and Sanitation Master Plan launched by the Department in 2020; is the blueprint that was developed to identify key actions and allocate roles and responsibilities to all stakeholders in the water sector, including the various tiers of government, and the private sector. It is intended to guide the sector regarding investment planning for the development of water resources, delivery of water and sanitation services, and addressing service delivery backlogs services until 2030. The Master Plan also addresses the enabling requirements, such as the institutional and legal arrangements for implementation, operation and maintenance, funding requirements and models, and monitoring and evaluation models.

2. Although there are still evident backlogs in service delivery, particularly in rural areas; due to the legacy of apartheid; the democratic government has been turning the situation around by progressively ensuring access to water for all as mandated by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It should be noted that the population of South Africa has grown from 40 to 60 million which make the percentage progress even better due to the ever-moving target. The National Water and Sanitation Master Plan therefore comprises of key programmes, projects, and actions to be implemented for the protection and development of the national water resources, as well as provision of adequate and reliable water services for all citizens.

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Reply:

There are two (2) Water Use Authorisations for Iron ore and Manganese mining activities currently in progress in the Northern Cape.

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Reply:

All appointments in the department are subject to open recruitment and selection processes and are not subject to Minister having meetings outside the public sector.

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Reply:

The Nandoni-Nsami Pipeline Project consists of Construction of two (2) bulk water pipelines to provide water to Giyani and the greater Malamulele areas as well as a pump station at the Nandoni Water Treatment Works to supply water to the pipelines.

The 33.98km out of 40.50km of the Nandoni-Nsami line has been completed. There have been several delays with Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipe delivery. To date, 21.32km out of 26.58km the Nandoni-Malamulele pipeline has been laid. The project is left with chambers, pressure testing, Luvhuvu crossing and some finishing touches.

The project started on 07 March 2016 with an initial completion date of 09 November 2020. This could not be realised due to several unforeseen circumstances. The adjusted practical completion date is 14 March 2023.

The Water Service Authority (WSA), the Mopani District Municipality is also implementing additional reticulation to 55 villages that are supplied from the Giyani Water Treatment Works. Reported current progress with the reticulation project is as follows:

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Reply:

The department periodically develops and reviews policies and this process involves extensive consultations with external stakeholders and the broader public. As such, draft policies are gazetted for public to provide comments.

Once departmental policies are finalised, the documents are gazetted and published on DWS website thus becoming public documents.

a) All policies of the Department can be accessed on the official website www.dws.gov.za

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Reply:

1. The Nelson Mandela Bay University (NMU) has not been approached to carry out any research on alternative water resources to mitigate against the drought. The NMBM conducted its own research as guided Department of Water and Sanitation Algoa Reconciliation Strategy which was used to develop the NMBM Drought Mitigation Plan (DMP). The NMU is however a stakeholder at the NMBM Joint Operations Centre (JOC) where the DMP is reported which the university can provide their comments and inputs.

2. Yes, my Department has conducted the Algoa Reconciliation Strategy since 2011, which aims to reconcile bulk water sources with water requirements over a planning period of at least 25 years to prevent the risk of a water shortages. An annual update of the strategy, called the Status Report, is done which describes the status of the Algoa Water Supply System (WSS) in terms of bulk water infrastructure, water resources, current and future water requirements and yield balance, and recommended interventions and other actions.

One of the key recommendations have been made through the Algoa Reconciliation Strategy was that the NMBM should complete implementation of the Nooitgedacht Coega Low Level Scheme Phase 3 which will provide an additional 70Ml/day potable water to the NMBM. This project will be commissioned at the end of September 2022. Further recommendations of the Reconciliation Strategy were:

• That the Metro should continue with the implementation of re-use schemes to meet the water demands of the Coega Special Economic Zone
• Ensure implementation-readiness for implementation of reuse schemes from the Fish Water Flats WWTW and the planned Coega WWTW; within the constraints of available development funds
• Proceed with planning for a potable reuse scheme, which should be preceded by a pilot scheme; and implementation of the 15Mℓ/d Coega seawater desalination scheme
• Update the comparative costs and potential impacts of raising the Kouga and the Guernakop Dams against investing in a desalination plant as a long-term augmentation option, considering that an EIA application for a 60Ml/d desalination plant has already been granted to CDC by DEA. This should be dependent on the updated yields, once the updated Algoa WSS model is available.
• Evaluate the Lower Sundays River Return Flows scheme at a more detailed reconnaissance level. This should be followed by a Feasibility-level Study by NMBM and considered as one of the next interventions to be considered for implementation. Consideration should be given to treating the water for industrial-quality use; and the municipality should timeously establish whether this scheme is worth pursuing further.
• Implement Water Use Efficiency / Water Conservation Water Demand Management projects to reduce the demand for water
• The Kouga LM should continue with groundwater evaluations and implementation of groundwater schemes, particularly those schemes that can easily integrated into the existing Water Supply System infrastructure. Groundwater initiatives undertaken by Kouga LM will further aim to make the various small towns less reliant on surface water supply. Potential groundwater yields should be updated when additional information becomes available.

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Reply:

1.  As indicated in response to Question no 2955, an amended rehabilitation plan was submitted on 4 August 2022 to include inputs from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency. The approved rehabilitation plan entails deliverables of the project which are categorised into three (3) phases namely:

• Phase 1: Low Flow Eco Status Report
• Phase: 2: Development of Rehabilitation Actions from Phase 1
• Phase 3: Monitoring and Final Report

Implementation of Phase 1 of the rehabilitation plan has commenced, and the Khwezela Mine has appointed qualified team of specialists. The appointment of the team fulfils one of the requirements of the directive issued by this Department. Other key matters that the mine has made progress on include the following:

• Commencement with the first round of monitoring and this has been completed on 19 August 2022 the results have been distributed and the specialist team is working on the results.
• Commencement with the eco status assessment and reconnaissance surveys. The surveys entail systematic screening of the water resources through recording characteristics found in the water resources and recommended actions based on the results obtained.
• Furthermore, a workshop on updating the rehabilitation plan with the specialist panel will be held on 15 September 2022. Specialist workshop on 1st and 2nd round of monitoring will be held October 2022.

(2) The relevant details of the rehabilitation plan are outlined in the Gantt chart attached as Annexure A with an indication of timelines. It is envisaged that implementation of the rehabilitation plan will be completed by 2027.

(3) Provision of the “details regarding the progress of the rehabilitation of the two rivers” can be obtained by submitting a request to the Departmental chief information officer as guided by PAIA.

(4) Provision of the “details indicating whether the natural process of rehabilitation has started based on the reports provided to him by the rehabilitation company” can be obtained by submitting a request to the Departmental Chief Information Officer as guided by PAIA.

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Reply:

1. No disciplinary action was taken by DWS against municipal officials that did not adhere to non-compliance letters issued by the DWS as the non-compliance letters were issued by the DWS against the Water Service Authorities not individual employees. The WSAs against whom non-compliance letters were issued are indicated in Annexure A.

2. In terms of the Constitution of South Africa, the Department has an obligation to provide support to local government and to exhaust all intergovernmental relations remedies prior to turning to the judiciary for relief. The Department therefore approached the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Municipal Infrastructure Agency and the South African Local Government Association to provide support and assistance to the Water Services Institutions that are struggling to develop and implement action plans. The Department monitors compliance against the implementation plans. Where these are not implemented or submitted despite support, the department will revert to administrative enforcement measures under the National Water Act. Where there are persistent and material breaches (offences) in terms of sections 151 of the National Water Act and 82 of the Water Services Act, the department will conduct criminal investigations to which may lead to criminal prosecution.

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Reply:

(1) The Biodiversity Company was appointed by Khwezela Colliery to develop and implement a Rehabilitation Plan.

(2) The Rehabilitation plan was submitted before 30 April 2022. However, the plan needed to be reviewed and amended to include the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) inputs and was subsequently submitted to the department on 04 August 2022.

(3) The Biodiversity Company was appointed by Khwezela Colliery to develop and implement a Rehabilitation Plan for the Klein Olifants and Wilge Rivers.

(4) The Rehabilitation Plan was approved by the department.

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Reply:

a)  The draft Compulsory National Water and Sanitation Services Norms and Standards has been certified by the State Law Advisor.

b) Certification of the initial phase Social Economic Impact Assessment by the Presidency is expected by the end of September, whereafter it will be published for public comment for a period of 60 days.

c) Publication of the Norms and Standards for public comments depends on the certification from Presidency, but the target is to publish by 15 October 2022.

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Reply:

1. (a) (i) None.

(ii) Not applicable.

(iii) Not applicable.

(b) Not applicable.

2. No. there is no need to make a statement. The Department implemented the provisions of DPSA Circular no 38 of 2022 dated 29 June 2022.

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Reply:

a) Based on our database there is one (1) water use licence application for chrome wash plant that was withdrawn by the applicant since 2016.

b) The details are indicated below:

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) established a WAR room to assist the Ethekwini Metro Municipality to manage the impacts of the floods on water services provision, on 15 April 2022. Officials of the DWS are members of the WAR room and are monitoring interventions to ensure water services are restored and alternative water supplies provided.

The Ethekwini Metro has appointed a contractor to reinstate the Tongaat Water Treatment Works (WTW). The construction is scheduled to be complete and the works commissioned by 30 September 2022.

In the interim the Ethekwini Metro is providing water via approximately 20 water tankers and 33 static tanks installed in the Tongaat area.

Some parts of Tongaat including Watsonia, Buffelsdale, Mithanager, Trurolands, Gandhinagar, Chelmsford Heights and parts of Tongaat Central that are supplied from the Tongaat South Reservoir, are receiving water for a few hours a day.

Other parts of Tongaat that are receiving water from alternative systems include parts of Belvedere area, Raj Kumar’s farm areas, Walter Reid Road, Amanzimnyama area, Brake Village, Plain Street and parts of the Gandhinagar area.

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