Reply:

Bloem Water was the first water board to implement the 96KW Conduit Hydro Power in the country on 31 March 2015. The new technology (Hydro Power) is still operational and in use.

(a) (i) The total cost for the project was R 3.5 million.

(ii) (aa) The average electricity savings a month are estimated at R30 000.00. The savings vary due to the seasonal demand for electricity

(bb) An estimated R2.5 million has been saved in the last seven years of running the generator. The only time the Bloem Water had to replace the generator on the turbine was in 2017 at a cost of R20 000. Other than that, the yearly budget for operation and maintenance of the generator is R40 000.

(iii) Bloem Water budgets R40 000 annually for both electrical and mechanical maintenance. Other than that, there are no other costs as the generator depends on the potable water supplied by the Bloem Water’s Welbedacht Water Treatment Works to its main Brandkop reservoir.

(b) This water passes through the turbine via a re-routed pipeline to generate electricity before it goes

back into the main reservoir. The project was initiated by Bloem Water and completed in conjunction with key stakeholders, including the Water Research Commission (WRC)and the University of Pretoria (UP). The second phase of this project is currently ongoing which will see the extension of the project to the Bloem Water’s Uikyk Reservoir. This site has a potential of an energy output of 300KW.

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Reply:

1(a) The current progress on the upgrade of the Madibeng Water Treatment Works is at 73% towards completion.

b (i) The project cost for the project is R750 million.

(ii) The allocated cost for the financial year 2022/23, is R103 million.

2 (a) The project is being implemented in a phased approach. It is anticipated that phase 2 of the upgrade of the Water treatment Plant will be completed by April 2023.

(b) The current phase of the project is still under construction and is anticipated to be completed by April 2023. The next phase of the project is under planning and will be implemented in partnership with the Sibanye Stillwater Mine. It is anticipated that phase 3 of the project commence in May 2023 and be completed by May 2024.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation has allocated R15 million, through Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG), for the Makolokwe Water Supply Project. This project is intended to connect to the water supply pipeline from Glencor Mines, which is still under negotiation.

The design of the pipeline and connection is completed, and tender document is ready for the construction. The anticipate commencement of construction is May 2022, the projected completion date is August 2022.

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Reply:

The Department does not fund Metropolitan Municipalities for water and sanitation programmes since such municipalities receive the Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) from the Department of Human Settlements (DHS). The USDG is intended to fund programmes related to the Built Environment for the provision of basic municipal services, including water and sanitation infrastructure.

The Department of Water and Sanitation engaged with Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) about short-medium term plans towards the eradication of bucket toilets in Section C of Botshabelo in Ward 32 and obtained the following report:

• Botshabelo is affected by bulk sanitation constraints. The main outfall sewer needs an upgrade at an estimated cost of R60 million. Additionally, the wastewater treatment works needs to be upgraded from its current capacity of 20Ml/d to 40Ml/d at an estimated cost of R380 million.

• The current hydraulic load at the WWTW is 18ML/d, which means that there is a spare capacity of 2ML/d. The upgrade of the main outfall sewer is expected to be completed by December 2023. The project to eradicate bucket toilets in Botshabelo Section C is planned for the 2022/23 financial year. The current bulk sanitation spare capacity is adequate to accommodate the additional imposed demand caused by the planned upgrade.

• MMM plans to install an upgradable alternative sanitation solution as a short-term measure to overcome bulk challenges. A budget of R94.5 million has been appropriated for the programme under USDG over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. A total of 5 300 units will be constructed and later converted to a full waterborne system after installation of the bulk infrastructure. The project is at the procurement stage and awaiting the National Treasury directive on procurement matters due to the constitutional court finding on the PPPFA.

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Reply:

(1)(a) The delay in the establishment of the Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) has been for several reasons including (a) reconfiguration and realignment of all entities of the Department of Water and Sanitation in accordance with the Presidential report on the rationalisation of public entities; and (b) opposition to the establishment of new Agencies by labour unions as it is seen as privatisation

(1)(b) Breede-Olifants, Inkomati-Pongola, Mkuze-Mtamvuna, Vaal-Orange, Limpopo-Olifants and Mzimvubu-Tsitsikamma Catchment Management Agencies.

(1)(c) The Mkuze-Mtamvuna, Vaal-Orange, Limpopo-Olifants CMAs will be established by April 2023 and the Mzimvubu-Tsitsikamma CMA will be established by April 2024.

(2)(a) It is anticipated that the Olifants River Catchment Management Agency will be operational by April 2023

(2)(b) Due to reasons provided in 1(a) above, the Department changed its approach to the establishment of CMAs.

(3) The submitted action plan of 30 March 2022 proposed a passive treatment system (a wetland DongaLock system which is being evaluated by the Department’s wetland specialists. If approved, the system would be operational by September 2022.

(4) The existing dosing plant below Kromdraai Mine is active but is only partially treating the mine water as the sulphate quality limits are not being met. Measures will be implemented to continue with the improvement of the liming plant to the required design standard.

Regarding whether the department can provide the reports of the PH levels, the toxic heavy metals, aluminium and salts like sulphates to the Member, it should be noted that third party Information can be made available subject to a Promotion of Access to Information Act application.

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Reply:

In South Africa many catchments are water stressed and this necessitates implementation of various measures to secure water resources in all the catchments in the country. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) gives effect to the development and innovation of water infrastructure through the National Water Resource Strategy.

The DWS undertakes continuous scenario planning to ensure water security for the country. The key outputs of the scenario planning are strategies and projects to reconcile water requirements and availability for all large integrated systems in the country and localised water resource systems that secure water for small towns, villages or clusters of settlements.

Broadening of South Africa’s water resource mix is critical for water security as there are now limited opportunities for further surface water developments. To address this, the DWS:

• Is developing guidelines and a national strategy for supplementing surface water resources with groundwater resources in a sustainable fashion.
• Is importing surface water from neighbouring countries;
• Will increasingly be supporting municipalities to develop alternative sources of water, including through desalination and water re-use;
• Is encouraging and supporting municipalities to implement water conservation and demand management strategies, including reducing water losses; and
• Will increasingly be working with industries to increase water-use efficiency.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is currently in the process of establishing the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA). Once established, the NWRIA will be able to finance and implement large-scale investments in national water resource infrastructure that are required to ensure that South Africa has sufficient bulk water supply.

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Reply:

Rand Water provides potable water to the City of Johannesburg. Over the past couple of years Rand Water experienced failures of bulk electrical and mechanical equipment at the Rand Water purification works and main pump stations. Interruptions at the Zuikerbosh purification plant impacts on Rand Water’s Palmiet and Swartkoppies pump stations. These pump stations supply water to the Klipriviersberg, Meyershill and Forest Hill reservoirs.

Johannesburg Water pumps water from the Rand Water Meyershill reservoir to the South Hills towers to supply water to Linmeyer, Risana, South Hills and surrounding areas. Johannesburg Water also pumps water from the Rand Water Forest Hill reservoir to the Forest Hill tower which provide water the Oakdene and surrounding areas.

Due to the electrical and mechanical failures at the works and the pump stations at Rand Water, the water levels at reservoirs are reduced to very low levels or run empty. When the water levels from the reservoirs are too low, the Johannesburg Water pumps are damaged.

To safeguard the pumps against the damage, Johannesburg Water switches off its pump stations until reservoir levels can be stabilised. During the period when the pumps are switched off, this results in water interruptions for the areas dependent on the Klipriviersberg, Meyershill and Forest Hill reservoirs.

Since February 2022 Rand Water had a number of failures at their Zuikerbosh plant as well as the Palmiet pump station which affected water supply capability to the South of Johannesburg; especially the Meyershill reservoir; which then impacted on the South Hills tower supply. The failures resulted from electricity supply failures, transformer failures as well as pump failures on various occasions. The duration of the interruptions would be as long as 5 days over which Rand Water managed to build sufficient capacity at its reservoirs. The City of Johannesburg provides water through alternative means to affected areas when there are disruptions.

During the last incident in the beginning of March 2022, arrangements were made for Johannesburg Water to pump water directly from the inlet pipe works at the Meyershill reservoir to restore water supply in the South Hills area. This stabilised water supply to the South Hills area since mid-March 2022 and also allowed Rand Water to stabilise levels of water at the servoir l at the Meyershill reservoir.

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Reply:

1. The North West Province Department of Economic Development, Environment Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT) and DWS are working together to implement the key components of the Hartbeespoort Dam Integrated Biological Remediation Programme Plan. The Hartbeespoort Dam Action Plan comprising of interventions to address among others, the water hyacinth infestation in the dam. These activities are coordinated through the Hartbeespoort Dam Coordinating Committee (HDCC). Some of the interventions being implemented to control the infestation of the dam are:

• My department has engaged the services of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) as the Implementing Agent for the project which is being implemented though the Working for Water Programme.

• The DFFE has deployed six (6) teams on the dam that are manually removing the water hyacinth plants.

• The DFFE is also implementing a biocontrol programme on the dam with the assistance of the Rhodes University’s Centre for Biological Control. The Centre for Biological Control (CBC) provides assistance by establishing various biocontrol mass rearing stations around the dam and constantly supplying the biocontrol agents. The biocontrol agents that have been released on the dam, the notable of which is the leaf hopper (Megamellus scutellaris), have been able to reduce the water hyacinth biomass on the dam exponentially. The rapid and significant reduction of water hyacinth has now been proven in two consecutive years.

The HDCC is considering mobilising the fish removal programme on the dam to comply to the AIS regulations promulgated in 2014, as well as section 24 of NEMA and section 70 (1)(a) and section 76 of NEM:BA. The exotic Chinese Carp and invasive Catfish (bottom feeding species), that have become dominant and invasive in the Hartbeespoort dam, need to be reduced and managed to support the indigenous algae eating Tilapia species.

The department will continue implementing the Working for Water Programme over the next 24 months, and thereafter re-assess whether it will still be necessary to continue with the manual removal of the water hyacinth. The biocontrol programme, which has resulted in a significant decrease in water hyacinth for two years in a row, will be continued as a sustainable control method.

2. Additional to the visual recording and monitoring being done by the Working for Water under DFFE and DWS personnel, weekly satellite images are evaluated and interpreted to track the growth patterns. The system used is Sentinel 2A.

3. The DWS is the national custodian for water in South Africa, including the water resource management in the dams. As the owner of the infrastructure, DWS is also legally responsible to control invasive species in the water and on state land. In terms of this responsibility, DWS signed a memorandum of understanding with DFFE to address these liabilities collectively.

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Reply:

The Department does not have a specific program to eradicate pit toilets. The role of the department is to provide financial support to municipalities to enable progressive eradication of pit toilets.

Local water supply and sanitation services are a function over which municipalities have executive authority in terms of section 156 of the Constitution read together with Schedule 4 Part B. However, although municipalities have executive authority, other sections of the Constitution and legislation requires government (national and provincial) to support municipalities and intervene where there is failure of water and sanitation services:

The Water Services Authorities should, on the basis of its Water Services Development Plans (WSDP’s) and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) prioritise the provision of water and sanitation and eradicate sanitation backlogs within communities.

Water Services Authorities have access to the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and or Water Services Infrastructure Grants (WSIG) from the Department of Water and Sanitation to fund such projects. The WSIG and MIG allocations for the Free State Province for the financial year 2022/23 are R393 237 million and R844 877 million respectively.

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Reply:

(1)(a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) issued a Directive instructing Kwezela Colliery to appoint a suitably qualified environmental consultant to compile a rehabilitation plan for all the areas affected by the pollution incident. The issued Directive also indicated that the rehabilitation plan ought to have clear timeframes and descriptions of how and when each remedial action will be implemented. The company subsequently submitted the draft rehabilitation plan. The DWS has assessed and accepted the rehabilitation plan for implementation.

One of the important aspects that were committed in the draft rehabilitation plan is the ecological restoration of the system. This aspect will be implemented over time as containment or curbing of pollution is prioritised to prevent potential immigration. The DWS is currently monitoring implementation of compliance to the Directive to ensure all reasonable measures are taken to contain and minimise the effects of the incident.

Further, the Kwezela Colliery and the DWS have agreed on the following:

• The company will appoint an independent qualified environmental consultant as prescribed in the Directive to develop sustainable rehabilitation plan
• The company will implement remedial measures to minimise and curb pollution, these measures include, amongst others, clean-up of the pollutants from the river system and the removal of fish carcass from the stream
• The company requested approval from the DWS to release water from Bronkhorspruit and Witbank Dams to assist with the flushing of affected areas and the request was granted
• Final Rehabilitation Plan will be submitted on or before 30 April 2022

(1)(b) The DWS conducted an investigation after receiving reports of fish kill at Wilge River system. Findings of the investigation revealed that there was a pollution incident that had occurred at Kwezela Colliery on approximately 14 February 2022. The incident was caused by an old Mine shaft that collapsed which led to an overflow of polluted water from the facility into the watercourse. The Department served the facility with a Directive to immediately rectify the contravention. The Department directed the facility to, amongst others:

• take reasonable measures to contain, minimise the effects of pollution incident,
• undertake clean-up procedures,
• remedy the effects of the incident.

The Kwezela Colliery submitted an action plan, and the Department is currently monitoring implementation thereof. The DWS has recently engaged the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to request the inclusion of criminal investigators from DFFE on the investigative team. The DFFE will therefore be supporting the other government officials, in relation to the criminal investigation, which will determine the criminal liability based on the evidence collected. A decision would then be made by the National Prosecuting Authority on whether or not to prosecute and which parties should be prosecuted.

(1)(c) Kromdraai Mine which is a section of Khwezela Colliery.

(2)(a) The DWS has a compliance monitoring programme to monitor compliance with the conditions of the water use authorisation in terms of water uses including the discharges of water into the water resources. Furthermore, the department has a regular sampling programme which serves as an early warning system to non-compliance or water quality risks.

2(b) The Department has identified and assessed catchments at high risk for acid mine drainage and is developing mitigation plans to proactively manage these aspects.

3(a) The lead authority for mining is the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). The details on the total number of the un-rehabilitated mines can be obtained from the DMRE.

3(b) Although my department is not the lead authority on un-rehabilitated mines, the DWS is currently in the process of drafting mitigation strategies to address the impacts of Acid Mine Drainage which includes mitigation measures for un-rehabilitated mines which may pose a danger to water resources.

3(c) Until mine closure certificates are obtained, mines are monitored in accordance with their water use authorisation. The department provides comment and input in this process to DMRE. Water use authorisations also include provisions for progressive rehabilitation and mines are monitored in accordance with these provisions.

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Reply:

The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) is both the Water Services Authority (WSA) and the Water Services Provider (WSP) in the Buffalo City area. Amatola Water manages bulk infrastructure and provides bulk water into some areas of Buffalo City.

Following the repeated complaints of water outages and water discoloration in East London and surrounding areas; the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) engaged the Metro and undertook site visits to the uMzonyana Water Treatment Works and affected areas.

The following has been done to remedy the situation:

• The Executive Mayor of the BCMM, has convened a Technical Task Team (TTT) under the leadership of the City Manager, comprising officials of BCMM, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Amatola Water and co-opted specialists.
• The technical task team has prepared an action plan to address the concerns against which progress can be monitored.
• The DWS has further provided five (5) road water tankers for a period of one month to assist with emergency water delivery where reservoirs were empty.
• The DWS has temporarily lifted water restriction notice for one month to both the Metro and Amatola Water Board to ensure that the system stabilises. However, there is vigorous monitoring of the water use against restricted allocations to avoid system failure.

The primary objective of these interventions is to facilitate co-operation and to ensure that operational glitches are minimised. It is also to ensure that water distribution and reservoir levels can be stabilised and restore confidence in the capacity of the Buffalo City to deliver water services to communities. Both the BCMM and Amatola Water participate in the DWS’ monthly Drought Monitoring Committee for the Amathole Water Supply System.

With regard to the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBM), the Municipal Health Department, along with municipal Scientific Services found drinking water failures had occurred and issued a boil water notice to their water users. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) performed its own tests and monitoring to confirm the status of water complaints in Gqeberha, even though these failures were drought related emanating from elevated turbidity caused by low reservoir levels preventing periodic scouring as required. The resultant turbid water failed to comply with the national standard for drinking water quality (SANS 241) necessitating the issuing of a preventative boil water alert. The laboratory analyses indicated the presence of associated higher total coliforms in the areas of contaminated reservoirs but no prevalence of E-coli (which is the general indicator of bacterial and faecal contamination). In addition, there was no indication of the presence of Salmonella typhi which underlines the finding that there was no Typhoid present in the Nelson Mandela drinking water.

The DWS has supported the NMBMM to isolate the Grassridge Temporary Water Treatment Plant from use and to remove the sludge build-up manually. However, the Temporary Water Treatment Works (WTW) needs to be put back into service soon, as the Metro continues to over abstract from the Algoa WSS Dams on the Western Side. The Metro has also increased chlorine dosing at all WTW and all bulk and distribution reservoirs.

The prolonged and severe drought has placed a lot of pressure on the water supply system in the NMBM. In addition, water reservoir levels remain low, and the risk of distribution interruptions is still high. The DWS has facilitated the return to site of the contractor and Implementing Agent, so that Phase 3 of Nooitgedagt-Coega Low Level Scheme can be completed and commissioned without any further delay. This will see an additional 70ML/d of clean water to the existing NMBM system.

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Reply:

1. If a water services authority has not effectively performed its water services function, the Minister of Water and Sanitation is able to intervene in terms of Section 63 of the Water Services Act, in consultation with the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and by requesting the Province to intervene in terms of section 139 of the Constitution. If the section 139 intervention is unsuccessful, the Minister of Water and Sanitation can assume responsibility for the water services function.

In this regard, in December 2021 the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal established an inter-Ministerial task team to determine the root causes of water supply interruptions in the various supply systems, develop implementable interventions, and monitor the progress made with implementation of the interventions. In addition, a Water Supply Challenges WAR room has been established and meets every week to ensure interventions are implemented and to monitor progress on projects.

In terms of Section 154 of the Constitution, the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs have allocated financial and human resources to support and strengthen the capacity of the Ugu DM to manage their own affairs, exercise powers and perform their functions efficiently.

The Minister of Water and Sanitation is not mandated to transfer the Ugu District Municipality’s bulk water function to a water board. The appointment of a bulk water services provider by the Ugu DM would need to follow the provisions of Section 78 of the Municipal Systems Act.

2. The DWS is providing assistance to the Ugu DM. The DWS is partaking on the Inter-Ministerial Task Team and the WAR room meetings and has allocated funding to the Ugu DM through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). The allocations from the 2021/22 to 2022/23 financial years are as follows:

Financial Year	Amount
2021/22	R72 350 000
2022/23	R60 000 000
2023/24	R70 000 000
Total	R202 350 000

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Reply:

The Vhembe District Municipality (DM) is both the Water Services Authority (WSA) and the Water Services Provider (WSP) that provides water to Thohoyandou.

The Vhembe DM provides water to Thohoyandou and surrounding areas through:

• The Vondo Water Treatment Works is located at Phiphidi supplies water to various communities including Golgota, Thoyandou Units D and G.
• The Nandoni-Thohoyandou pipeline (NR6) supplies water to the following areas: Thohoyandou P East and West, the Thohoyandou CBD, Thohoyandou Units F, J, K, L, M, N, and University of Venda.

It should be noted that the Vhembe DM is in the process of upgrading the Vondo WTW from 52ML/d to 75ML/d to meet the current and future demand for water in Thohoyandou. The project has been allocated R334 258 638.00 through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant. An allocation of R534 322 941.46 has also been set aside for maintenance of the plant. The project commenced on 10 May 2018 and is expected to be completed by 30 June 2022.

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Reply:

The Department initiated the Giyani Water Services intervention in August 2014 with the intention to address water services challenges experienced by the communities in Giyani. The project was initiated as a Ministerial directive to Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) for immediate intervention in Mopani District Municipality (DM) to address water challenges. LNW conducted assessment of water services infrastructure in Giyani and initiated the following interventions:

• Refurbishment of existing water and sanitation infrastructure, including pump stations, repairs of leaking pipes and reservoirs, borehole development and installation of package plant for immediate supply to social facilities (Nkhensani Hospital)
• Construction of 1.5 Ml/d Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) to augment existing Giyani WWTW
• Revitalization of 154 boreholes to augment water supply in 55 villages around Giyani
• Replacement of about 325 km of inefficient bulk pipelines that supply water to 55 villages around Giyani

        

In 2019, LNW terminated contracts with Professional Service and the Turnkey service provider for Giyani Water services. At that stage, progress on the pipeline was reported to be 50% complete by LNW but was later verified by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to be 35%. Similarly, the additional works were reported to be 92% complete, but subsequent investigations by the DWS indicated that the project progress was 48%.

 

The DWS is intervening to ensure completion of the project and ensure that the residents have access to potable water. The following is being done to fast track the project:

• The Nandoni-Nsami pipeline is being constructed by a contactor with a new PSP as the Engineer to transfer raw water from the Nandoni Dam to the Nsami WTW and progress is at 38% complete
• The additional works are being completed by the DWS Construction unit with the new PSP as Engineer with assistance from LNW for procurement of materials
• The Nandoni to Nsami pipeline will be a raw water pipeline which will join the existing canal
•  
• The supply to the Malamulele area will be potable water supplied via the Mavambe pipeline
• Refurbishment of the existing Nsami Water Treatment Works at the Nsami dam to operate at design capacity to increase water supply to Giyani villages
• Villages in Giyani will be further served by water from Nwamwitwa Dam when it comes online
• The Mopani DM will be assisted to take advantage of unspent Water Services Infrastructure Grant allocations to extend reticulation in the villages and synchronize with completed sections of the pipeline

 

The DWS will has deployed an experienced Engineer in the capacity of a Chief Director to provide effective project management support to LNW and assist in the decision making on the project. An escalation route for unresolved challenges has been established to the Director General and the Minister to intervene.

Reply:

Projects that are incomplete are indicated in Annexure A below as follows;(a) grant funded projects, (b) augmentation projects and, (c) the bucket eradication projects.

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ANNEXURE A:

PROVINCE	PROJECT	REASON FOR NON- ACHIEVEMENT	RECOVERY PLAN	PROJECTED COMPLETION DATE
Grant funded projects
Eastern Cape	Xhora BWS phase 1 of 2 (Weir, WTW, dam Bulk pipeline)	Shortage of material available coupled with delays in resolving SMME appointments and delays in approval of concrete mix design caused delays in project completion.	To speed up the process of procuring material, an SMME desk has been established and appointment process to go ahead with finalisation of concrete mix design.	December 2022
	Sundays river (Paterson) BWS phase 6 of 6	The purchase order of the Professional Service Person’s (PSP) was depleted, and the PSP suspended. The Contractor cannot work without the supervision of the PSP and has been off site since 14 September 2020	Amatola Water is currently in the process of rectifying the issue of the PSP’s purchase order. Once this process is done, a formal process will be followed to get the contractor back to site and continue with the work.	June 2023
Free State	Rouxville/ Smithfield / Zastron BWS (Mohokare BWS)	Hydro – Tech new Mechanical Contractor has not commenced with their scope of work due to the required process of assessing the existing equipment and components prior to commencing with the works	MLM has finalized the assessment of the equipment scope of work for the new contractor.	April 2022
Mpumalanga	Driekoppies Phase 1C of 5	Graves were found on site which resulted in the relocation of the reservoir. This required re-design exercise Some materials were imported and were affected by the COVID 19 lockdown restrictions	A revised program was submitted and an extension of time due to additional scope	July 2022
	Sibange Phase 2 of 5	Delays due to community unrest and heavy rains	Contractors are back on site and acceleration plan will be implemented to catch up and complete the project	September 2022
	Sibange Phase 4 of 5	Delays due to community unrest and heavy rains	Contractors are back on site and acceleration plan will be implemented to catch up and complete project. New method of sealing the reservoirs after the rainfall is being implemented	May 2022
	Sibange Phase 5 of 5	Delays due to community unrest and heavy rains	Contractors are back on site and acceleration plan will be implemented to catch up and complete project	April 2022
	Balfour/Siyathemba RBWS Phase 2 of 6	Delays due to rainfall, non-payment to suppliers and community unrests	Community issues have been addressed and budget made available to pay service providers. The Contractor will provide acceleration plan to catch up for the time lapsed.	May 2022
	Balfour/ Siyathemba Phase 3 of 6	Community unrest due to employment demands Land servitude unavailability issues Hard Material encountered during excavations	The Municipality has intervened, and community issues were resolved successfully The Compensation for the Land has been finalised	May 2022
Augmentation projects
KZN	Raising of Hazelmere Dam	Unforeseen technical challenges during dam construction Delays in procurement of critical instrumentation for the dam	The site was handed back to contractor in October 2021 and the site establishment was completed in December 2021. Critical instrumentation procurement and installation included in scope of contractor	October 2022 (completion of construction)
	Cwabeni OCS Dam KZN	Lack of funding	The Minister issued a Directive to Umgeni Water to fund and implement the project. Umgeni Water has submitted a draft Implementation Agreement for consideration by DWS.	TBC
	Stephen Dlamini Dam	Lack of funding	The Minister issued a Directive to Umgeni Water to fund and implement the Stephen Dlamini Dam project. Umgeni Water has submitted a draft Implementation Agreement for consideration by DWS.	TBC
	Umkhomazi Water Project (UWP) - Phase 1	Delay in finalising Water Supply Agreements	The Heads of Agreement for the Water User Agreement have been drafted and negotiations are ongoing. Funding of R60 million has been transferred to TCTA for project preparation activities.\ The Project Steering Committee is in place	2028
Western Cape	Raising of Clanwilliam Dam	Delays in procurement outsourced services and goods Previous funding constraints	Process for resumption of construction activities has been initiated Establishment of an Infrastructure Procurement Office to unlock procurement challenges	Apr 2026 (to be revised on resumption of construction activities)
Eastern Cape	Mzimvubu Water Project	Long-term funding for the project not assured Delays in procurement outsourced services and goods Challenges with obtaining the project documentation from the professional service provider	The processing of tenders for the procurement of construction materials is underway Alternative options are being considered for the completion of construction of the access roads	TBC
North West	Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project- Phase 2 (MCWAP-2A)	Impact of delay in the Environmental Authorisations appeal decision on project activities Delay in procurement of project and support services Delay in finalisation of tender design due to delay in appointment of Panel of Experts	The Implementation Agreement has been signed and the Water Supply Agreements are being finalised.	April 2028
Limpopo Province	Great Letaba Water Augmentation Project (GLEWAP): Nwamitwa Dam	Insufficient funding for project implementation Outstanding sign-off on design work undertaken under LNW as the Implementing Agent such as the dam boundary line.	Project activities to be planned as per the availability of funding and in stages Engagement with previous IA to unlock impasse with regards to outstanding dam boundary line	TBC
	Olifants River Water Resources Development Project- Phase 2D (ORWRDP-2D)	Due to funding limitations, a strategic decision was taken by DWS to re-sequence the project and project implementation will need to be reviewed. A Memorandum of Intent (MOI) was signed between DWS and Commercial Users Consortium. Project to be deferred as per new implementation approach	Project deferred	TBC
	Olifants River Water Resources Development Project- Phase 2E & 2F (ORWRDP-2E & F)	Due to funding limitations, a strategic decision was taken by DWS to re-sequence the project and project implementation will need to be reviewed. A Memorandum of Intent (MOI) was signed between DWS and Commercial Users Consortium. Project to be deferred as per new implementation approach (ORWRDP 2E) ORWRDP 2F to form part of the re-sequencing implementation model	2E deferred 2F -TBC	TBC
	Raising of Tzaneen Dam	Delay in conclusion of design work with previous Implementing Agent and application for licence to construct which is required for construction to commence	The appointment of a new IA was approved on 17 Feb 2022. The establishment of a Project Management Office as well as the commencement of construction will start as soon as the process to appoint the Implementing Agent is finalised.	June 2023 (to be revised on resumption of construction activities)
Eastern Cape	Coerney Dam	Delays in procurement of professional service provider	The Coerney Dam project was declared by the Minister as an Emergency Works on 10 July 2020 to enable the detailed design to be undertaken in parallel with the environmental impact assessment process. DWS Internal Engineering Unit was appointed on 08 October 2020 to undertake the detailed design on the project and is in the process of procuring an external professional service provider to undertake the engineering design work.	Dec 2025
	Zalu Dam (Lusikisiki)	Delays in procurement of specialist services Lack of sufficient funding for the implementation of the project	The design work is approximately 40% complete. Process for procurement of specialist services is currently underway Funding to advance the design work has been provided in the 2021 MTEF.	TBC
	Foxwood Dam	Lack of funding	The process of appointing Chief Directorate: Engineering Services for the provision of engineering services for the project has been initiated Funding to advance the design work has been provided in the 2022 MTEF.	TBC
Western Cape	Berg River Voëlvlei Augmentation Scheme (BRVAS)	Delay in securing funding Delay in finalising Water Supply Agreements	TCTA is continuing with stakeholder consultations to conclude the institutional arrangements. Funding of R75 million has been transferred to TCTA for project preparation activities.	TBC
Bucket Eradication Project
Free State	Ficksburg	Contractor appointed in March 2021, however, took site in June 2021 after review of the Engineering Designs	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
	Clocolan	Contractor appointed in March 2021, however, took site in June 2021 after review of the Engineering Designs	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
	Senekal	DWS Construction appointed – delays in acquisition of material through local tenders (however service providers are non-responsive, and this has delayed construction activities)	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
	Reitz	Contractor appointed took site in July 2021, after review of the Engineering Designs	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
	Petrus Steyn	Contractor appointed took site in July 2022, after review of the Engineering Designs	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
	Arlington	Contractor appointed took site in September 2022 (re-advertisement of tender), after review of the Engineering Designs	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
	Dealesville	Contractor appointed took site in September 2022 (re-advertisement of tender), after review of the Engineering Designs	Revised Construction Programme submitted and will be monitored accordingly.	March 2023
Northern Cape	Campbell	Contractor appointed in December 2022 however, appointment found to be irregular and will be terminated. A new contractor to b sourced and appointed within 2 months.	A new contractor will be sourced and appointed within the next 3 months.	March 2023

Reply:

(a) Official	(b) Make	(c) Model	(d) Year of Manufacture	(e) Purchase Price	Date Purchased/ ordered	Status
Deputy Minister Magadzi (PTA)	BMW	X3	2021	R799 563.97	11 Oct 2021	Delivered
Deputy Minister Magadzi (CT)	Lexus	UX 250 Hybrid SE	2021	R735 004.10	19 Nov 2021	Ordered
Deputy Minister Mahlobo (PTA)	Audi A6	40TDI 140 KW S Tronic	2021	R 698 133.00	19 Nov 2021	Ordered

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Reply:

Neither the Office of the Minister not the Department of Water and Sanitation received the correspondence referred to in the question posed by the Honourable Member.

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Reply:

To date, there are no sexual harassment cases that are pending. For the past three financial years, only one case was reported, which has since been withdrawn.

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Reply:

Details of the supplier invoices that are unpaid for the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Entities are indicated in Annexure A.

DWS AND ENTITIES	INVOICES PAID WITHIN 30 DAYS	MORE THAN 30 DAYS (aa)	MORE THAN 60 DAYS (bb)	MORE THAN 90 DAYS (cc)	MORE THAN 120 DAYS (dd)	TOTAL	REASONS FOR NON-PAYMENT
DWS MAIN ACCOUNT AND WATER TRADING	0	0	0	0	29	29	The bulk of the unpaid invoices relate to unfunded interventions in previous financial years of operation and maintenance. The other invoices relate to War on Leaks projects which are still under dispute.
		0	0	0	29	R 159 257 504
AMATOLA WATER	62	32	24	24	330	472	It is envisaged that the payment for the outstanding supplier invoices will be made when funds are available and in line with contractual conditions of payment.
		R 23 776 089	R 13 390 551	R 20 230 151	R 208 490 605	R 280 953 237
BLOEM WATER	13	2	3	1	7	26	To be settled within 30 days
		R 3 002 7453.68	R 59 499.71	R 80 548.71	R 203 602.45	R 3 346 394.55
LEPELLE NORTHERN WATER	41	7	6	13	15	82	Projects implemented on behalf of DWS amounting to R8.9m are still in dispute and will be settled upon submission of requested information. It is envisaged that most of the outstanding invoices will be settled by end of March.
		R 18 092 000	R 13 643 000	R 21 845 000	R 348 509.00	R 402 090.00
MAGALIES WATER	52	0	0	0	24	76	There are 22 invoices relating to the Department of Water and Sanitation on raw water purchases, amounting to R73,6 million. There is a payment arrangement of R10 million payment every quarter. There is one invoice of R378 652,49 relating to capital works, which has a retention period provision. The invoice will be paid once the quality of work has been verified and there are no defects. This will be an indicator for the completion of the retention period.
		R0	R0	R0	R77 257 696,90	R103 027 850,91
MHLATHUZE WATER	124	8	1	1	11	145	All outstanding invoices have queries, they will be settled once all queries are addressed. It is envisaged that all outstanding invoices will be settled by end March 2022.
		R692 406	R14 561	R102 479	R27 529 271	R33 504 326
RAND WATER	168	35	10	3	12	228	All outstanding invoices due to unresolved queries (Incorrect invoices not matching the services that has been rendered and/or delivered. Supplier delays sending actual Tax invoices) will only be settled once the disputes are resolved.
		R18 846 242	R29 517 604	R4 614 058	R373 893 847	R 722 106 186
SEDIBENG WATER	28	88	30	23	126	295	Invoices to be cleared upon receipt of payments from customers. These invoices will be settled by end March 2022.
		R45,826,610	R79,503,312	R16,582,170	R4,911,924,689	R5,065,396,849
WRC	1	0	0	0	1	2	All outstanding invoices have queries, they will be settled once all queries are addressed. It is envisaged that all outstanding invoices will be settled by end March 2022.
		None	None	None	R135 500	R141 411

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Reply:

(1)(a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) issued a Directive instructing the responsible company to appoint a suitably qualified environmental consultant to compile a rehabilitation plan for all the areas affected by the pollution incident. The issued Directive also indicated that the rehabilitation plan ought to have clear timeframes and descriptions of how and when each remedial action will be implemented. The company subsequently submitted the draft rehabilitation plan. The Department has assessed and accepted the rehabilitation plan for implementation however, there are still further investigations that need to be conducted to ensure sustainability.

One of the important aspects that were committed in the draft rehabilitation plan is the ecological restoration of the system. This aspect will be implemented over time as containment or curbing of pollution is prioritised to prevent potential immigration. The DWS is currently monitoring implementation of compliance to the Directive to ensure all reasonable measures are taken to contain and minimise the effects of the incident.

Further, the Department together with the representative from the responsible company held a meeting wherein the following matters were confirmed:

• The company will appoint an independent qualified environmental consultant as prescribed in the Directive to develop sustainable rehabilitation plan
• The company will implement remedial measures to minimise and curb pollution, these measures include, amongst others, clean-up of the pollutants from the river system, the removal of fish carcass from the stream
• The company requested approval from the DWS to release water from Bronkhorspruit and Witbank Dams to assist with the flushing of affected areas and the request was granted
• Final Rehabilitation Plan will be submitted on or before 30 April 2022

(1)(b) The Department conducted an investigation after receiving reports of fish kill at Wilge River system. Findings of the investigation revealed that there was a pollution incident that had occurred at Kwezela Colliery on approximately 14 February 2022. The incident was caused by an old Mine shaft that collapsed which led to an overflow of polluted water from the facility into the watercourse. The Department served the facility with a Directive to immediately rectify the contravention. The Department directed the facility to, amongst others:

• take reasonable measures to contain, minimise the effects of pollution incident,
• undertake clean-up procedures,
• remedy the effects of the incident.

The facility submitted an action plan, and the Department is currently monitoring implementation thereof. The DWS has recently engaged the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to request the inclusion of criminal investigators from DFFE on the investigative team. The DFFE will therefore be supporting the other government officials, in relation to the criminal investigation, which will determine the criminal liability based on the evidence collected. A decision would then be made by the National Prosecuting Authority on whether or not to prosecute and which parties should be prosecuted.

(1)(c) Kromdraai Mine which is a section of Khwezela Colliery.

(2)(a) The DWS has a compliance monitoring programme to monitor compliance with the conditions of the water use authorisation in terms of water uses including the discharges of water into the water resources. Furthermore, the department has a regular sampling programme which serves as an early warning system to non-compliance or water quality risks.

2(b) The Department has identified and assessed catchments at high risk for acid mine drainage and is developing mitigation plans to proactively manage these aspects.

3(a) The lead authority for mining is the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). The total number of the un-rehabilitated mines can be obtained from the DMRE.

3(b) Although my Department is not the lead authority on un-rehabilitated mines, the DWS is currently in the process of drafting mitigation strategies to address the impacts of Acid Mine Drainage and amongst other things, these include mitigation measures for un-rehabilitated mines which may pose a danger to water resources.

3(c) Until mine closure certificates are obtained, mines are monitored in accordance with their water use authorisation. The department provides comment and input in this process to DMRE. Water use authorisations also include provisions for progressive rehabilitation and mines are monitored in accordance with these provisions.

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Reply:

1.  (a) The projected date of completion for the project is 22 November 2022.

(b) The total budgeted cost for the project is R21 065 353.73.

(c) 33 million mᶾ of additional water will be stored after completion of the project

(2) The dam safety rehabilitation programme for Kwaggaskloof Dam which forms part of Greater Brandvlei Scheme will commence in the 2022/23 financial year.

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Reply:

The construction of toilet top structures in Kutlwanong, Kagisho and Phomolong within the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality was funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation and implemented by the Sol Plaatje Local municipality.

The municipality appointed Makone Consulting Engineers as the consulting engineers and Renaissance Skills Centre as the contractor for the construction of 320 toilet top structures. Construction commenced on 24 March 2021 and was anticipated to be completed by 22 November 2021. However, delays were encountered due to non-payment of labourers by the contractors which resulted in labour unrest and works stoppages.

The contractor submitted a request for extension of time, which was not approved by the Municipality. The Municipality has committed to completing the remaining works utilising internal resources. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by end June 2022.

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Reply:

a)  The raising of Clanwilliam Dam project will be completed by April 2026 as per the current approved programme.

b) The revised cost is R 3 920 000 000 as per current project cost estimate.

NW833E

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Reply:

The De Hoop Dam, including the first section (40km) of the primary bulk pipeline to Steelpoort (ORWRDP Phase 2C) was completed in 2014. The construction of a secondary bulk to distribute water to the villages within the Nebo Plateau from De Hoop dam from the Malekana Water Treatment Works (WTW) commenced in January 2009.

The implementation of Nebo Scheme was planned in a phased approach and the first phase of the project was completed in December 2011. It was however, not commissioned due to delayed completion of the De Hoop Dam.

The commissioning of the completed Jane Furse pipeline from Malekana WTW to Jane Furse was also delayed due to deteriorated components of the pipeline and pump stations. The commissioning of the pipeline was halted because the contractor experienced cash flow challenges and the company was placed under business rescue.

The scheme has a capacity of 12 Ml/d and has been partially commissioned. It is operating at 4Ml/d through the Malekana WTW as construction for most of the bulk infrastructure is still in progress. The plant provides water to eight villages including Ga-Malekana, Ga-Masha, Ga-Maepa, Makakateng, Mphana, Mpelegane, Ga-Maphopha and Ga-Rantho. The Sekhukhune District Municipality (DM) is in the process to resume the commissioning process to functionalise the pipeline from Malekana to Jane Furse, which will supply water to forty-two (42) more villages.

Once the construction of the bulk water supply infrastructure pipelines is completed, the capacity of the Malekana WTW will ensure the sustainable water provision to all the villages that are meant to benefit from the scheme.

To cater for growing demand for water in the area, the Sekhukhune DM has concluded the technical report to upgrade the WTW from 12Ml/d to 24Ml/d. However, the funding remains a challenge as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant is fully committed. There is a need to reprioritise funding for the WTW upgrade as soon as possible to align with bulk distribution projects. The funding required amounts to R121 million.

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Reply:

2019/20 financial year
	(a) catering	(b) entertainment	(c) accommodation
	R'000	R'000	R'000
(i) Minister	2	3	1 464
(ii) Deputy Ministers	-	-	2 035
(iii) Officials	1 443	144	23 635
Total	1 445	147	27 134

2020/21 financial year
	(a) catering	(b) entertainment	(c) accommodation
	R'000	R'000	R'000
(i) Minister	-	2	654
(ii) Deputy Ministers	-	-	345
(iii) Officials	317	22	17 175
Total	317	24	18 174

2021/22 financial year
	(a) catering	(b) entertainment	(c) accommodation
	R'000	R'000	R'000
(i) Minister	106	3	1 897
(ii) Deputy Ministers	3	3	1 219
(iii) Officials	860	58	34 818
Total	969	64	37 934

Total amount spent
	(a) catering	(b) entertainment	(c) accommodation
	R'000	R'000	R'000
(i) Minister	108	8	4 015
(ii) Deputy Ministers	3	3	3 599
(iii) Officials	2 620	224	75 628
Total	2 731	235	83 242

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Reply:

The Nooitgedagt Coega Low Level Scheme (CLLS) project, which will deliver water to Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) is nearing completion. The expected date of completion is end July 2022.

Upon completion of the project, an additional amount of 70MI/day will be delivered to NMBM which will take the total amount to 210 MI/day. It is anticipated that the delivery of water will commence around end of March. The total cost to completion is estimated at R 534 million.

The plant has been designed to deliver an additional 70Ml/day if required. However, the current allocation is 210Ml/day which is the maximum water that can be supplied by the plant.

The department is currently implementing the Algoa Reconciliation strategy where all possible augmentation schemes are investigated to determine which will be the next most viable scheme to augment the water supply to NMBM. The further extension of the Nooitgedagt water scheme forms part of the study. This will however mean that the allocation from the Orange Fish system will have to come out of water savings from the Agricultural Sector.

The other schemes that are being investigated is the Sea Water Reverse Osmosis, Wastewater Reclamation, Groundwater and more efforts towards Water Conservation and Demand Management. The department is of the opinion that they should concentrate on bringing the water losses down to an acceptable rate before other options are explored.

Reply:

Sekhukhune District Municipality has been allocated a total budget of R130 million through Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) to implement 3 bulk water supply projects namely, Mooihoek, Nebo and Moutse Bulk Water Supply.

The municipality has also been allocated R 51,6 million through Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to implement water services projects which includes groundwater development, construction of storage tanks and reticulations in various villages within the district including Maebe, Tukakgomo and GaMarishane.

Both grants are under schedule 6B and are indirect transfers and can only be paid as per the invoice of work done by the service providers and verified by the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Sekhukhune DM, and project steering committee.

The project management of the two grants is governed by the prescripts of the Division of Revenue Act and the Public Financial Management Act and Treasury Regulations to give guidelines to follow when disseminating funds to Sekhukhune District Municipality and how claims are made.

The appointment of contractors is done by Sekhukhune District Municipality, as the Implementing Agent in line with the supply chain processes. The municipality is required to establish steering committee and project management teams projects implemented for projects under implementation. This ensures effective monitoring of the project progress and payments for completed work. The invoices are verified prior to making payments to confirm that the physical work done is in line with the amount being claimed.

 

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Reply:

a)  The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has over the years developed interventions to address water shortages within the country. This intervention includes forms of grants(conditional) that are aimed at provision of sustainable water supply through the provinces.

The DWS is managing two infrastructure grant funding programs namely Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). The two grants subsidise Water Services Authorities to implement bulk projects through RBIG and reticulation projects through WSIG. The two programs fund projects that reduce water services infrastructure backlogs and enhance access by ensuring sustainability of services. The projects include-:

• New infrastructure development
• Upgrade of existing infrastructure
• Refurbishment and or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure etc

b) For the 2021/22 financial year, the department is implementing 126 projects in all the 9 provinces which are funded through RBIG and 230 through WSIG to address water shortages and provide sustainable and adequate water provision in different municipalities. Part of the intervention will include the implementation of the District Development Model.

 

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Reply:

(1) Rand Water consumes an average of 682 MWh a day of electricity for abstraction, treatment and distribution of water. Due to this requirement, Eskom and municipalities are the only electricity providers with distribution licences. A substantial portion of electricity is consumed at the treatment and booster stations.

Issues of planned and unplanned power outages are covered by the Electricity Supply Agreements between electricity suppliers and Rand Water as well as NERSA regulations. Rand Water ensures enforcement of the provisions in line with the contracts. In addition, Rand Water has undertaken a comprehensive risk assessment of its power suppliers and their infrastructure and is consulting Eskom with a view to understand their upgrade plans.

Rand Water has also embarked on projects to provide emergency power generators at its pumping stations. The project to provide these emergency power generators at six of tertiary pumping stations has been completed. The emergency power provision at the larger booster pumping stations is currently underway with anticipated completion by end 2023.

(2) Rand Water is embarking on the installation of Hydropower and Solar PV at some of its sites. However, it should be noted that even though this will provide additional electric energy, it will not be sufficient to supply treatment plants and booster stations due to the size of Mega Watts (MW) that will be generated as well as the geographical locations of installation. Innovative ways of generating electricity for Rand Water are still at very early stages and the entity continues to depend on Eskom for supply.

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Reply:

Name of the Water Boards	Period	Amount outstanding in total	On what date is it envisaged that the amounts will be paid to the respective water boards
Amatola Water	2021/2022	6 914 022,59	Amount will be settled by not later than the 25 March 2022.
Bloem Water	2021/2022	1 536 436,37	Amount will be settled by not later than the 25 March 2022.
Lepelle Northern Water	2020/2021	13 290 001,62	The amount will be settled by the 31 March 2022 after budget reprioritization.
Magalies Water		-	No outstanding invoices
Mhlathuze Water		-	No outstanding invoices
Overberg Water		-	No outstanding invoices
Rand Water	2020/2021	132 211 798,20	Amount of R1,4 million will be processed by not later than the 25 March 2022.The balance will settle after the budget reprioritization 31 March 2022.
Sedibeng Water		-	No outstanding invoices
Umgeni Water		-	No outstanding invoices
Total	153 952 258,78

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Reply:

South Africa requires an ongoing and sustained multiple water resource infrastructure build programme, in addition to effectively operating and maintained existing assets. However, due to fiscal constraints, DWS cannot only rely on fiscal support to develop the required infrastructure especially for the implementation of the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan.

The National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) would be better positioned than the Department of Water and Sanitation to raise funds from sources other than the fiscus and be able to seek lines of credit with international multilateral institutions. These will include commercial banks and development finance institutions such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

The NWRIA will consider a hybrid model when it comes to infrastructure funding, which will also include the Presidential Infrastructure Fund. Based on its PFMA listing and authority, credit rating and condition of assets, the NWRIA would be able to raise commercial and development finance, domestic and international markets. The DWS will continue engagements with the Infrastructure Fund with the aim of identifying projects that could be financed through the Fund.

Reply:

The Lepelle Northern Water Board (LNW) is implementing a preventive maintenance plan that is combined with condition-based, predictive, and corrective maintenance on the bulk water infrastructure as a short-term solution to address water supply challenges in Polokwane.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is implementing the Olifantspoort and Ebenezer Water Supply Schemes (O&E WSS) project to upgrade and refurbish the schemes and increase capacity to meet demand in Polokwane and surrounding areas which is projected to grow to 272,3 ML/day by 2043.

Upon completion of the project, it is envisaged that water supply will be improved as follows:

• The capacity of the Olifantspoort scheme which is currently 60 ML/day will be increased by 40 ML/day.
• The capacity of the Ebenezer scheme which is currently 54 ML/day and will be upgraded by 15ML/day to 69 ML/day.

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Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has engaged the Sol Plaatjie Local Municipality on the matter and the municipality confirmed that at times the turbidity of treated water was elevated, but that there were no failures on bacteriological contamination as all E. coli results were within requirements.

The DWS officials conducted investigations at the Riverton WTW on 04 February 2021 and the following findings were reported:

a) Aged infrastructure on both the old and new plant and poor operations and maintenance of the works.

b) The old plant was non-operational due to chemical and chlorine pumps failure

c) The new plant has 48 sand filters in total with some sand filters out of operation; those that were operational were overloaded and full of scum due to pd) or operation and maintenance

d) From the on-site physical testing, the final turbidity count was ranging from 34.4, 18.08, 9.41 to 4.79 NTU

e) The bulk water network supply lines could be corroded or full of sand; with no routine cleaning of reservoirs; and no maintenance program for existing infrastructure.

f) No full chemical and bacteriological analysis of final treated water is available on the Blue Drop Information system.

On 21 February 2022 DWS directed the municipality, in terms of 53(1) of the NWA to:

a) In terms of the Water Services Act (Regulation relating to Compulsory National Standards, No. 5) to provide water services within its area of jurisdiction, ensuring compliance with the Compulsory National Standards for the Quality of Potable Drinking Water (DWAF, 1996), SANS 241 and subsequent updated versions.

b) Ensure all water supplied to a household is tested by the water service authority/provider, with the frequency of testing depending on the size of the community in accordance with SANS 241.

c) Establish a suitable programme for sampling the quality of drinking water; specify the sampling points, frequency and which substances will be tested for in the water; compare the results with SANS 241 and if such results indicate that the water poses a health risk - inform the DWS, the Department of Health, and consumers immediately; and

d) Ensure that all consumers are educated about water quality and its importance for human health.

Furthermore, in terms of Schedule 3(1)(2) of the NWA the municipality was directed to provide an action plan within five (5) working days including short- and long-term solutions with financial and human resource implications and assigned responsibilities on how the municipality will address all the areas of non-compliance identified above. The municipality is also expected to provide monthly reports (by the first working day of following month) indicating:

• Progress with implementation of actions,
• Operation and maintenance of treatment water,
• Storage and conveyance and the water quality test results to indicate ensure safe drinking water that meets the required standards

The response of the municipality with the action plan and implementation of the action plan is being monitored by the department of Water and Sanitation.

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Reply:

a)  (i) As of January 2022, the accumulated expenditure for the project was R646 111 833.

(ii) It is expected that the project will be completed in October 2022.

b) The main delays on the project were due to:

• Unforeseen technical challenges during construction
• Delays in the procurement of critical instrumentation
• Longer than anticipated timeframes for the re-appointment of the contractor through the legally required National Treasury concurrence and appointment of Engineers.

However, the contractor returned to site on 14 October 2021 and construction work has commenced.

c) There are 15 households affected by the raising of the dam wall. Compensation will be provided in the form of 100m2 houses being constructed at an alternative site for each affected household. The affected households are being accommodated in the temporary housing erected on the stands allocated to affected families at Oakford. There are two families that have opted to remain on existing properties until the permanent houses have been constructed. The department is finalising the appointment of the contractor for the new houses.

 

Reply:

a)  Construction of the water pipeline from Xhariep Dam to Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is scheduled to start in July 2025. The next phase of the project will comprise of detailed designs, securing funding and contracting agreements.

b) It is envisaged that the project will be completed by June 2029.

Reply:

1.  A temporary raw water pipeline and pump station was installed by the Petra Diamond Mine in December 2019 after the flood damage of the Wilge Dam infrastructure. The temporary pumping system can supply on average, 11 Ml/d to the users. The average demand in Cullinan for the past financial two years was about 10 – 10.5 Ml/d which has been met by the Cullinan WTW. There have been interruptions to supply that are due to power outages.

(2) The Wilge Dam infrastructure, including the pumps, pipeline which was damaged by the flooding is owned and maintained by the Petra Diamond Mines. The Petra Diamond Mine is in the process of repairing the damaged infrastructure. The following progress has been made in this regard:

• Detailed designs and Bill of Quantities for the Civils, Mechanical Electrical and Control & Instrumentation (C&I) designs have been completed
• The Environmental Authorisation was received from Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• Currently awaiting approvals for Water Use License Application from the Department of Water and Sanitation DWS.
• Tenders for appointment of Contractors have been advertised and appointment of contractors is expected to be concluded by end of April
• Construction is expected to start in May/June 2022. The expected Project completion date is January/February 2023.

(3) Magalies Water has a contract with the City of Tshwane (CoT) for power supply. Power supply interruptions are therefore reported to the CoT for investigation and resolution, whether the interruptions are a result of challenges with their own infrastructure or Eskom related. Interventions to resolve power supply outage challenges include:

• Engagements with the CoT to improve the unreliable electricity supply
• Formal correspondence to CoT, requesting that Magalies Water be exempted from load shedding as this negatively impacts bulk water supply
• The installation of standby generators was explored and found to be unaffordable
• The raw reserved buffer dam has been cleaned and repaired and recommissioned.
• Magalies Water is also exploring the possibility of the Petra Diamond Mine to supply the Cullinan WTW with electricity as alternative power supply.

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Reply:

a) The municipality rations water supply to avoid total collapse of the water supply infrastructure. The water rationing is done on a daily basis at night-time where demand for water is less allowing the infrastructure to build up storage. This is done from 20H00 to 03H00.

The Department of Water and Sanitation instructed eThekwini Metro as the WSA within its jurisdiction to undertake an investigation on the ongoing water supply interruptions within and surrounding Umlazi areas. The report indicated short, medium, and long terms solutions to mitigate the water supply challenges in the Umlazi areas.

The table below shows the short, medium, and long terms solutions that eThekwini Metro has initiated and planned to undertake to stabilize the Umlazi water system:

Item	Intervention	Description	Budget Required	Funding Source	Financial Year
1.	Short Term	Dedicated day to day operation and maintenance of Umlazi water supply system	R560 000 per month (outsourced excluding internal costs)	Internal O&M Budget	2021/2022
2.	Medium Term	Optimized maintenance of the Umlazi water supply system	R560 000 per month (outsourced excluding internal costs)	Internal O&M Budget	2021/2022
3.	Long Term	Replacement and Upgrade of the Umlazi water supply system	R2 billion (including bulk and distribution networks)	Not funded yet	N/A

Water supply into Umlazi system comes from Durban Heights Water Treatment Works (DHWTW) located in Reservoir Hills through the twin southern aqueduct lines, 1200mm steel and a 950mm diameter pipes. This aqueduct supplies Shallcross, Chatsworth, Northdene, Queensburgh, St Wendolins, Washington Heights, Welbedatch and ultimately Umlazi (including Nsimbini, Folweni and Golokodo).

The condition of the 950mm diameter pipe has deteriorated over the past four years which caused frequent major leaks that required major repairs resulting to a decision to isolate all sections of this pipe. The impact of the pipe isolation resulted in reduced system input volume to all downstream areas (Chatsworth, Shallcross, St Wendolins, Nagina, Northdene, Queensburgh, Welbedatch, Umlazi, Folweni, Nsimbini and Golokodo). This affected most the critical points (furthest and highest points), Umlazi 2 which supplies C, F, G, H, N & W Sections and ultimately Nsimbini, Folweni and Golokodo.

(a-c) The municipality, together with its water service provider (Umgeni Water) is in the process of refurbishing and upgrading bulk infrastructure which includes upgrade and replacement of bulk pipelines. The refurbishment of Reservoir 3 began in November 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by August 2022.

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Reply:

MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION

1. Upon receipt of complaints from residents of the City of Johannesburg and media reports, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) referred water cuts complaints to the City of Johannesburg and Rand Water for corrective action. Rand Water made some changes to improve water supply into the Palmiet system from other pumping systems and we are currently monitoring the impact on their reservoirs due to the changes”
2. Investigations were conducted by Rand Water and the and it was established that water purification plant was forced to shut down on 29 April 2021 due to fire under the ESKOM line. As a result, water levels in the Brixton, Hurst Hill and Crosby storage complex dropped to low levels, and the system took time to recover. Under normal circumstances, Rand Water supplies these reservoirs with a minimum flow of 2 500 kl/hour from their Commando Road meter, which is then supplemented from Stafford at a rate of just over 3 500 kl/hour. Johannesburg Water manages to maintain the three (3) reservoir complexes at a combined average capacity of 50%. However, since the incident of the 29 April 2021, a number of issues impacted on the flow specifically from Commando Road, as follows:

• • Stage 2 load shedding schedule implemented by ESKOM/City Power from 16 May 2021 to 18 May 2021 had adverse effect on the system, the storage was compromised, and recovery was very slow.
  • On the 18th of May 2021, Rand Water undertook a pre-isolation shutdown at Eikenhof Pumping Station to prepare for the replacement of the G34/Q2 isolation valve. During this pre-isolation shutdown, a power failure was experienced at the Vereeniging Water Treatment Plant which affected supply to the Hurst Hill system.
  • Power failure on 23 May 2021, further worsened the situation, especially for the Brixton Reservoir and Tower as both ran dry due to power failure and the inability of Johannesburg Water to pump water from Crosby Reservoir.
  • This was further negatively affected by power failures from 29 May and 30 May 2021 at the Eikenhof Rand Water pumping station.
  • Rand Water’s Eikenhof Pumping Station was shut down for two hours on 05 June 2021 to enable City Power to fix an electrical fault on the power line, a setback that negatively impacted recovery. The water supply system recovered slowly during the day due to high water demand.

The initial water outage was reported by residents of Linmeyer in 07 July 2021. The matter related to the Rand Water Palmiet Pump station failure. The failure of the pump station reduced pumping capacity to a number of reservoirs which form part of the Palmiet pumping system. One of these reservoirs was the Rand Water Meyershill Reservoir situated in South Hills Johannesburg. Johannesburg Water has a pump station which is pumping water from the Rand Water Meyershill reservoir into South Hills water tower and supplies the areas of South Hills, Risana, Linmeyer and Tulisa Park and surrounding areas with water.

Due to the Palmiet pump station failure the Meyers Hill reservoir levels dropped to a level of 6%. When the levels of the reservoir dropped below 25%, Johannesburg Water could no longer pump water into the tower without damaging the pumps thus resulting into water supply interruption.

The second water outage reported on 28 August 2021, related to the Rand Water Meyershill Reservoir being almost empty following a power failure at the Zuikerbosh purification works the previous week. This impacted the Palmiet pumping system and the majority of the reservoirs on that system were negatively affected. The system has since recovered.

3. It was established that water supply interruptions in the City of Johannesburg resulted from a power failure or load shedding. It was also established two of Rand Water purification plants namely, Zuikerbosh and Vereeniging; as well as two major pumps stations (Palmiet and Eikenhof) supplying large parts of the City had also been affected by power failure.

Following the investigations, Rand Water implemented a 54-hour shutdown to do maintenance on their raw water pipes at the Vereeniging purification works from the 15 to 17 November 2021. The line was commissioned fully on 17 November 2021, with the works back at full capacity on 18 November 2021. Once the works were in full production; Rand Water increased its pumping capacity at Eikenhof pump station on 19 November 2021.

During this period, Johannesburg Water only received 75% of water supply which resulted in some of the reservoirs running at low levels. The Brixton/Crosby reservoirs took a strain in the process, with Hurst Hill running dry. The City of Johannesburg did not provide interim measures to supply water to affected areas during the outages. However, both Crosby/Brixton and Hurst Hill reservoirs recovered, and normal supply was restored to affected areas by 19 November 2021.

Reply:

 

(a). The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has over the years developed interventions to address water shortages within the country. This intervention includes forms of grants(conditional) that are aimed at provision of sustainable water supply through the provinces.

The DWS is managing two infrastructure grant funding programs namely Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG). The two grants subsidise Water Services Authorities to implement bulk projects through RBIG and reticulation projects through WSIG. The two programs fund projects that reduce water services infrastructure backlogs and enhance access by ensuring sustainability of services. The projects include-:

• • New infrastructure development
  • Upgrade of existing infrastructure
  • Refurbishment and or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure etc

(b). For the 2021/22 financial year, the department is implementing 126 projects in all the 9 provinces which are funded through RBIG and 230 through WSIG to address water shortages and provide sustainable and adequate water provision in different municipalities.

Part of the intervention will include the implementation of the District Development Model.

Reply:

 

(a). The Ethekwini Municipality has put a plan to attend to the matter and I can confirm that there has been provision of water and sanitation services to the informal settlements in Ward 25 including the areas of Punter, Kennedy Road, Foreman Road and Burnwood. These informal settlement areas are supplied with water standpipes within 200 meters of households, and containerized ablution facilities that are fitted with water for drinking and washing, toilets and showers. This level of service is in accordance with the water and sanitation policy of the Ethekwini Metro and it is also in line with DWS standards on decent sanitation as well as clean water, while sorting an alternative place to settle the informal settlement community.

(b). The areas are provided with containerized ablution facilities which are connected to the city’s sewerage system. Sewerage leaks and overflows from this system are attended to within the operating standard of 48 hours where possible. The response

times are not always adhered to due to a backlog in the number of blockages and a fluctuating demand.

Reply:

The Mhlathuze Municipality has embarked on projects to address supply and demand challenges in and around the southern supply system which supplies the areas of Esikhaleni, Mandlakala, Port Dunford and Dlangezwa. The interventions are as follows:

(a). A business plan has been prepared to increase the capacity of Cubhu Water Treatment Works from 36Ml/d to 60Ml/d and construction of 1000mm diameter pipeline to Forest Reservoir.

(b).Reticulation project to Port Dunford, Ensimbini, Mcebisi, Nyembe and Ephayindini is scheduled to commence by January 2022 as soon as the construction permit is approved by department of labour.

(c). In Macekane the municipality has commenced with the construction of the reservoirs, bulk lines and reticulation to address water supply backlogs.

(d). The municipality has completed a 3Ml reservoir in Macekane and is currently busy with the 5Ml command reservoir, which is 38% towards completion.

(e). Construction of the bulk supply line from Hillview Reservoirs to Macekane and Hlaza is currently at 33% towards completion

(f). A second 25Ml reservoir is planned for the Richards Bay Supply System to supplement water supply to Mandlanzini, Mzingazi and Richards Bay areas.

For the area of Empangeni, the Mhlathuze Municipality has a contract with the Mhlathuze Water which ensures that there is a stable supply.

 

 

Reply:

 

The De Hoop Dam was completed in 2014 with the first section (40km) of the primary bulk pipeline to Steelpoort (ORWRDP Phase 2C). The construction of secondary bulk pipeline from Malekana Water Treatment Works (WTW) started in January 2009 in anticipation of distributing water to the villages within Nebo Plateau from the De Hoop Dam.

The implementation of Nebo scheme was structured in a phased approach. The first phase of the project was completed in December 2011 but was not commissioned due to delayed completion of remaining phases of the Olifants River Water Resource Development Project (ORWRDP).

The Jane Furse pipeline from Malekana Water Treatment Works to Jane Furse was partially commissioned and is operating at 4 Ml/d as most of the bulk infrastructure is still in progress. The scheme is currently serving eight villages, including Ga Malekana, Ga Masha, Ga-Maepa, Makakateng, Mphana, Mpelegane, Maphopha and Ga Rantho.

The Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) is in the process of kick starting the commissioning process of the pipeline from Malekana to Jane Furse which will supply an additional 42 villages.

The Sekhukhune DM has concluded the technical report for the upgrade of the Malekana WTW from 12Ml/d to 24Ml/d to align with bulk distribution projects. However, funding remains the challenge as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant is fully committed.

Reply:

 

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has both proactive and reactive measures in place to monitor compliance to water legislation and to deal with transgressions where such might have occurred. The Compliance Monitoring Programme deals with authorised water users and “blocked water courses” does not necessarily translate to unlawfulness if done within the provisions of legislation.

In terms of the different aspects of the Compliance Programme the DWS implements the following:

• Monitors a certain number of water users, including dam owners for their compliance with legislation on an annual basis
• Proactively promotes compliance in various platforms such as the Catchment Management Forums in order to ensure that an understanding of the requirements of water legislation is achieved to secure compliance
• Conducts surveillance or spot check in the various catchments to detect any unlawful activities At provincial level.
• Monitors and reports non-compliance to the relevant competent authorities on an ongoing basis through the Environmental Management Inspectorate

The Department is also actively involved in the Environmental Impact Assessment processes for new developments such as the construction of dams. Through this process the Department is able to proactively deal with developments within water courses that may impact on water security.

In terms of reactive measures; the DWS has a toll free number: 0800 200 200 and an email [email protected], as channels through which complaints of suspected non-compliance to water related legislation may be lodged by members of the public or interested and affected parties. In addition, the DWS has a dedicated Enforcement Unit that deals with complaints and provides liaison with enforcement agencies.

Although there is currently is no obligation for dam owners of older dams classified as ‘dams with a safety risk’ to have outlets installed in their dams, this is a good dam engineering practice which the DWS will be promoting and enforcing on new applications for licences to construct dams. The Dam Safety Office of the department will also embark on a process to conduct an audit of in- stream dams to check whether outlet works for downstream releases and for emergency releases have been installed.

In terms of unlawfully constructed dams, the department has recently conducted an Enforcement blitz operation in the Western Cape. It is envisaged that other similar operations will be rolled out in other provinces. The department is also taking action against departmentally approved engineering professionals who have been involved in the construction of dams without following the prescripts of Chapter 4 of the National Water Act and Regulation 139 regarding the safety of dams. Offenders are referred to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) for violation of the ECSA Code of Conduct for registered professionals.

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Reply:

 

The Department of Water and sanitation has put in place measures to ensure that challenges hindering progress for projects such as the Vaal Gamagara, the Giyani Water Supply and the Vaal River System Intervention are resolved and the services are delivered as expected by affected communities. The table below indicates the project descriptions, challenges and how these are being resolved

PROJECT / CHALLENGES	INTERVENTION/ PROGRESS
The Vaal Gamagara BWS Project: Phase 1 entails the refurbishment and replacement of an 80-kilometre pipeline which	To address challenges regarding the Vaal Gamagara Bulk Water Supply Scheme; the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has put in place an intervention as follows:

PROJECT / CHALLENGES	INTERVENTION/ PROGRESS
become necessary due to the pipeline having reached the end of its functional lifespan. The revised cost of Phase 1 amounts to R1.4 billion. The implementing Agent for the project, the Sedibeng Water Board is currently facing financial and liquidity crisis due to non-payment for services by the municipalities. This has also negatively impacted on the entity’s ability to continue with the implementation of the project.	In terms of Treasury Regulation 6.3.1 and section 5 of the Appropriation Act, an additional R294.278 million was allocated for the completion of Phase 1. Phase 2: Established a Project Steering Committee (PSC) that comprises of Private Sector on large infrastructure build projects, the Northern Cape Mines Leadership Forum. The PSC has an oversight role to consider, advise, assist, and make decisions on any business relating to the VGGWSS. Initiated several discussions with different bodies for a collaborative institutional arrangement for the sustainable development of the VGGWSS.
Giyani Water Services Project; The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is currently implementing the bulk water services project to address water supply challenges in 55 villages in Giyani. The project includes the construction of 8 bulk pipelines with a total length of 325km in to 55 villages. The current overall progress of the project is at48%. It is envisaged that it will be completed and commissioned by end of March 2023. However, it should be noted that the impact of the project will be realised progressively during the implementation as the pipelines should practically be completed and delivering bulk water to the service reservoirs in the villages from October 2021.	There are currently two pipelines that are are delivering bulk water to service reservoirs in the town of Giyani and the following four villages: Thomo, Mninginisi Block 2, Mhlava and Muyexe. An estimated 11081 households are benefiting from these pipelines. The Mopani District Municipality has a mandate to ensure availability of functional reticulation to all the villages for distribution of bulk water from the service reservoirs to the households once bulk distribution is completed. The DWS is supporting the Municipality through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to augment other funding that the municipality is allocated to address water services infrastructure needs, including the reticulation. For this purpose, the department has allocated R42 million for 2021/22 and a further R162 million will be allocated over the MTEF period.
Vaal River System Intervention: Cabinet approved the Vaal River System Intervention in the Emfuleni Local Municipality through Section 63 (2) of the Water Services Act, 1997 (Act No. 108 of 1997) on the 26 May 2021. The intervention plan for the water and sanitation infrastructure in the Emfuleni LM.	The DWS appointed Rand Water in terms of Section 63 of the Water Services Act to undertake management, operations and maintenance of the water and sanitation infrastructure in order to rehabilitate Vaal river integrated system and simultaneously capacitate the municipality to manage operations.

PROJECT / CHALLENGES	INTERVENTION/ PROGRESS
	The project is part of the immediate scope of works that will be undertaken by Rand Water. A panel of contractors for civil engineering services was appointed in June 2021. Mechanical and Electrical engineering services will be appointed early in 2022. The project includes the upgrade of Sebokeng, Rietspruit and Leeuwkuil WWTWs and completion of the Meyerton WWTW.

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Reply:

 

The findings and recommendations of the Report of the Ekurhuleni Water Care Company are indicated in the table below:

Findings	Recommendations
Non-establishment of the two key Governance Structures, the Political Steering Committee and the Project Steering Committee; resulted in delays for approval of the intervention implementation plan	Key Governance Structures should be established to make key decisions on budgetary issues and project implementation issues.
The Project Management Office (PMO) should have been appointed shortly after appointing ERWAT as an Implementing Agent to ensure efficient handling of the project plan and procurement of services.	The PMO should have been appointed shortly after appointing ERWAT as an Implementing Agent
There was a long lead time in Supply Chain Management processes (MFMA Compliance which affected the pace of the project.	Due to the urgent nature of the project, special procurement processes should be put in place to ensure that the needs of the project are met in a timeous manner
There was a lack of a structured communication and engagement protocol	Councilors need to conduct regular public awareness campaigns to educate communities on the objectives of the intervention to: Minimize work disturbances by the communities Reduce the littering and vandalism of the sewer network by the communities.
	Community awareness campaigns should be a constant feature/activity in projects of such a nature to manage community expectations.
The role of the Labour Unions and communities as key stakeholders, was not acknowledged which resulted in a lack of buy-in from the Metsi- a-Lekoa personnel for the project	Labour unions should play a greater part in projects of such a nature for the good of the project.
	The establishment of Labour Desks at an early stage is key so that the project can be implemented with the inclusion of SMMEs and taking into consideration job seekers in the area.
	Buy-in from the local communities, Community Leadership, Business Forum Leadership, MKMVA Leadership was crucial for the project.
There was scope creep between the Sedibeng Regional Sewer Scheme (SRSS) and the Vaal River System Intervention (VRSI) resulting from inadequate integration of the SRSS and VRSI Projects.	Allocation of resources and integration of projects such as the SRSS and the VRSI should be given priority even before the commencement of the project. This will also avoid delays due to interdependencies.
	Better planning and coordination is required for integration of SRSS into VRSI.
Finalisation of scope of works for refurbishments was delayed	The Department should prioritise finalization of scope for refurbishment when they take over project implementation.
	The O&M aspect of the project should be implemented first before the Capex rollout for infrastructure refurbishment to ensure that the Implementing Agent understands the process

Findings	Recommendations
	deficiencies and the sequence of the refurbishment process.
Human resources, equipment and fleet were found to be inadequate within Emfuleni Local Municipality and presented challenges in the operation and maintenance of the sewer infrastructure	The project should have commenced by mobilizing resources such as staff, fleet, tools, equipment, for Metsi-a-Lekoa. Capacitatation of ELM from inception would have made skills transfer from ERWAT an easy process.
Poor power supply to pump stations and Water Care Works (WCWs) affected water quality.	Back-up generators should be procured to ensure continuous adequate power supplies.

Reply:

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) raised R15.45 billion from six local banks, including DBSA, in May 2021, as part of its mandate to raise and manage funding for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (“LHWP”), including the construction of Phase 2. This followed the raising of R6.5 billion in 2018 from three local banks. The loans contribute to:

• Fulfilment of South Africa’s obligations in terms of the Treaty with Lesotho;
• Servicing of the existing debt portfolio; and
• New capital expenditure on LHWP-2 and liquidity management.

The LHWP augments the Vaal River System (VRS) which supplies water to 45% of South Africa’s population in Gauteng municipalities including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Rustenberg in the North West; as well Govan Mbeki Municipality (Secunda, Evander, and Bethal) in Mpumalanga. The Vaal River System also supports 60% of the South African economy, including:

• The bulk of Eskom’s power stations;
• Sasol’s plants in Sasolburg and Secunda;
• The goldfields of the North West and Free State provinces;
• The Iron and Manganese mines in the Northern Cape; and
• ArcelorMittal South Africa’s steel works in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.

The long-term outlook for the VRS is that water requirements are outstripping the available water resources and there is a need to assure water security for the several provinces dependent on the VRS.

The transactions are an investment in an impactful project that contributes to social and economic development. Apart from the direct benefit of additional water supply for the VRS, the LHWP-2 is anticipated to contribute and maintain a total of R244.4 billion (in 2018 constant prices) GDP and Sustain 544 586 new job opportunities, of which just over 214 570 will be for unskilled workers; thereby significantly contributing to South Africa’s job creation, according to a Technical Due-diligence Report prepared by consulting company called WSP for the benefit of Development Finance Institutions lenders.

The loans are all denominated in local currency and therefore do not have foreign currency exposure and have maturities of between 5 and 20 years. They will be repaid through water tariffs charged by the Department of Water and Sanitation on the Vaal River System water users.

The TCTA's repayment obligations under the LHWP are covered by an explicit South African Government Guarantee as required by the Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The details of the loan agreements are provided in table 1 below.

TABLE 1: LOAN AGREEMENTS DETAILS

Lender	Loan Type	Purpose of the loan	Loan Amount	Effective Date	Final Repayment Date
ABSA	Long-Term Loan	Refinancing of existing debt	R1,000,000,000	27 May 2021	31 March 2026
DBSA	Long-Term Loan	Capital Expenditure	R2,500,000,000	27 May 2021	30 April 2045
DBSA	Long-Term Loan	Capital Expenditure	R3,000,000,000	27 May 2021	30 April 2045
Investec	Long-Term Loan & Revolving Credit Facility	Refinancing and/or Capital Expenditure	R1,500,000,000	25 July 2018	25 July 2036
Investec	Long-Term Loan	Refinancing and/or Capital Expenditure	R1,650,000,000	27 May 2021	30 May 2036
Nedbank	Long-Term Loan	Capital Expenditure	R2,000,000,000	27 May 2021	27 May 2031
Rand Merchant Bank	Long-Term Loan	Refinancing and/or Capital Expenditure	R3,800,000,000	27 May 2021	27 May 2026
Standard Bank	Long-Term Loan & Revolving Credit Facility	Refinancing and/or Capital Expenditure	R4,000,000,000	27 July 2018	27 July 2033
Standard Bank	Long-Term Loan	Refinancing and/or Capital Expenditure	R600,000,000	27 May 2021	30 April 2027
Standard Bank	Long-Term Loan	Refinancing and/or Capital Expenditure	R900,000,000	27 May 2021	28 April 2028

Reply:

Yes, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has made efforts to intervene and improve the quality of drinking water in Hammanskraal including the following:

• Undertaking sampling of drinking water at the Temba Water Treatment Works (WTW) which confirmed that the drinking water is non-compliant with the drinking water standards, South African National Standards 214:2015
• Conducting investigations into the situation regarding water challenges in Hammanskraal and issued Directives to the City of Tshwane to improve the quality of drinking water supplied to the community of Hammanskraal
• Issued mutliple directives instructing City of Tshwane (CoT) to comply with the drinking water standards

It is important for the Honourable Member to note that the source of the contaminated water in Hammanskraal is the poor effluent discharged by the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) into the Apies River. The Rooiwal WWTW is overloaded, such that the effluent discharged into the Apies River is partially treated, and therefore pollutes the Apies River and the Leeukraal Dam.

The DWS also found that the CoT did not have capacity to optimally operate the Rooiwal WWTW. Subsequently, the CoT appointed East Rand Water Care Company (Erwat) to operate and upgrade the Rooiwal WWTW. Once completed, it is envisaged that the effluent discharged from the WWTW will improve. This will in turn improve the quality of water abstracted from the Temba WTW, which supplies water to Hammanskraal. The DWS will continue with compliance and enforcement processes until the CoT fully complies with effluent standards. The CoT is currently providing potable water to Hammanskraal community, using tankers.

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Reply:

1.  The Water Trading Entity of the Department of Water and Sanitation owns 108 buildings in Gauteng as reflected in the table below:

Area Office	Spatial Locations	Number of buildings
1. Bronkhorstspruit Dam	Bronkhorstspruit/ Gauteng	11
2. Roodeplaat Dam on the Pienaars River	Moloto Road/ Gauteng	60
3. Vaal Dam	Springs, Krugersdorp & Germiston	37
Total	108

2. Since 1 April 2020 to date, the department did not dispose-off any buildings.

Reply:

South Africa receives both summer and winter rainfall, with most Provinces falling within the summer rainfall area; whereas the Western Cape Province receives its rainfall mainly in winter. As a result, annual water allocation decisions for the summer rainfall areas are made in May or June when most of the summer rainfall is believed to have been harvested. On the other hand, the decision date for the winter rainfall areas is November.

The water reserves in most Provinces have been generally sufficient due to good rains received during the past summer rainfall season. The state of water storage in dams as at 30 August 2021 per Province is indicated in the table below:

Water availability and supply situation is determined by undertaking an Annual Operating Analysis (AOA) of the relevant water supply systems in the Provinces. The AOA determines the amount of water that can be supplied sustainably and equitably over the coming year considering the amount of water in storage at the decision date of the system. Water restrictions are implemented in cases of inadequate water availability.

The provinces with relatively less water availability, as indicated by low Dam levels, are located in the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape Provinces. Dam levels in the Western Cape winter rainfall area are generally good and still increasing given that the Province is still in its rainfall season.

The main two water supply systems in the Eastern Cape experiencing water shortages are the Algoa and Amathole Water Supply Systems (WSS). The Algoa WSS supplies water to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal Metro (NMBMM), Kouga Local Municipality and the irrigation sector. On the other hand, Amathole WSS supplies the Buffalo City Local Municipality and Amatola Water Board in East London and surrounding areas; as well as the irrigation sector.

On river systems that have been found to have inadequate water availability for the season, water restrictions are proclaimed in the government gazette to curb water abstractions in order to prolong supplies, especially for essential use. The Provinces with water restrictions on a number of systems/dams are listed below as:

Eastern Cape Province

The Algoa Water Supply System, which supplies the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro area, comprises of 5 Dams and is also augmented by the Orange-Fish-Sundays transfer scheme from the Orange River System in the Free State. There are currently restrictions imposed at 80% on irrigation supply and an overall 30% on the domestic sector. Specific restrictions for the different dams are indicated in Table 2.

Dam	Net Full Supply Capacity (Million m3)	Storage Level (%) – 01 Jun 2021 (Decision Date)	Storage Level (%) – 30 Aug 2021	% Restrictions
Churchill	35.24	23.07	19.55	50% Domestic & 80% Irrigation
Impofu	105.76	15.04	16.99
Kouga	125.91	4.22	5.44	70% Domestic & 80% Irrigation
Loerie	3.03	37.16	32.8
Groendal	11.64	26.64	21.81	80% Irrigation
Total System	281.6	11.92	12.51	30% Domestic and 80% Irrigation

Note: A supply of 58 million m³/a from the Orange-Fish-Sundays transfer scheme to the NMBMM

is not restricted

The Amathole Water Supply System, which supplies the Buffalo City area comprises of 6 Dams as detailed in table 3 below – 10% Restrictions are required on the domestic water supply and 30% on irrigation.

Dam	Net Full Supply Capacity (Million m3)	Storage Level (%) – 01 Jun 2021 (Decision Date)	Storage Level (%) – 30 Aug 2021	% Restrictions
Rooikrantz	4.79	97.14	77.59	10% on Domestic & 30% on irrigation
Laing	18.90	99.57	100.65
Bridle Drift	97.92	26.59	21.15
Wriggleswade	91.47	19.06	14.88
Nahoon	19.26	42.00	28.86
Gubu	8.52	85.76	79.36
Total System	240.88	34.19	28.81

 

Stand-alone Dams in Eastern Cape Province that are experiencing water shortage and requiring restriction rules for the season are listed in Table 4 below.

Dam	Net Full Supply Capacity (Million m3)	Storage Level (%) – 01 Jun 2021 (Decision Date)	Storage Level (%) – 30 Aug 2021	% Restrictions
Nqweba	44.7	8.0	6.7	20% domestic
Howiesonspoort and Settlers Dam	6.4	Not known - no information received from the municipality	20% domestic & 70% irrigation
Sandile	29.7	56.0	50.7	30% irrigation
Xilinxa and Gcuwa	14.2	20.4	7	20% domestic
Kliplaat	57.1	26.9	24.3	30% irrigation
Mhlanga	1.6	13.2	35.1	10% domestic

 

Western Cape Province

Stand-alone Dams in Western Cape Province that are experiencing water shortages and requiring restriction rules for the season are listed in Table 5 below.

Dam	Net Full Supply Capacity (Million m3)	Storage level at decision date 1 June 2021	Storage Level (%) – 30 Aug 2021	Restrictions Required at Decision Date
Gamka	1.82	45.1	32.62	10% domestic
Oukloof	4.19	0.0	0.00	90% irrigation
Karee	0.95	14.9	21.00	50% domestic

 

Mpumalanga Province

Stand-alone Dams in Mpumalanga Province that are experiencing water shortage and requiring restriction rules for the season are listed in Table 6 below.

Dam	Net Full Supply Capacity (Million m3)	% Storage decision date - 1 May 2021	Storage Level (%) – 30 Aug 2021	Restrictions Required at Decision Date
Mkhombo	204.6	10	7.6	10% domestic, 40% irrigation
Rust de Winter	28.2	100	99.65	10% domestic, 40% irrigation
Ohrigstad	13.5	100	57.6	10% domestic and irrigation

Limpopo Province

Stand-alone Dams in Limpopo Province that are experiencing water shortage and requiring restriction rules for the season are listed in Table 7 below.

Table 7: Stand-alone Dams in Limpopo Province

Dam	Net Full Supply Capacity (Million m3)	% Storage decision date 1 May 2021	Storage Level (%) – 30 Aug 2021	Restrictions Required at Decision Date
Middle Letaba	171.9	11	7.79	35% domestic, 70% irrigation
Nsami	21.9	90.5	71.46	35% domestic, 70% irrigation

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Reply:

1. The contracts of the advisory committees that were set up by the former Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, were linked to her term of office in the Department of Water and Sanitation. Due to the fact that the tenure of the former Minister ended on 5 August 2021, the advisory committees was given 30 days’ notice from this date and terminated on 4 September 2021.

2. The Chairpersons of the respective committees were requested to prepare and submit close-out reports. The Water Services Advisory Committee has submitted its close-out report. The other Committees will table their reports when they meet with the Minister.

 

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