Residents responded with mixed feelings at a list of homes scheduled to receive clean tap water in November this year.
The City of Tshwane, said Phase 1 of the Hammanskraal Clean Water Package Plant Intervention Project is nearing completion.
“The final assembly, commissioning and testing of Phase 1 will take place from 1 to 10 November 2024, followed by pressure testing and flushing of the pipelines between 10 and 14 November 2024.
From 15 November 2024, Phase 1 is expected to start supplying additional water into the bulk water network, benefiting several areas” said the City.
Star Tebogo said via social media ” thank you from Kekana Gardens, we working so hard for the government, I can’t retire with no water, I need my water, I work so hard..”
Simon Rasepai said “what about Ward 8?”
Lebogang Makanya said “thanks God for his mercies.”
Areas expected to receive clean water are Babelegi Industrial, Bridgeview informal settlement, Kekana Gardens (Steve Bikoville), Kudube Unit 9, Mandela Village, Marokolong and Ramotse.
These areas are in Wards 49, 73, 74 and 75.
The City also said challenges delayed time frames, culminating in the 12,5 megalitre phase, forming part of a larger project to supply 50 megalitre of clean water, marking a critical step toward sustainable water provision in the area.
The City also said during construction, an unexpected rock formation was discovered, disrupting plans to lay a key raw water pipeline from the abstraction point to Phase 1.
Cilliers Brink, former Mayor of Tshwane Gauteng, said the Democratic Alliance (DA) is worried about the delay.
“During my tenure as mayor of Tshwane, the City took hands with national government to solve the Hammanskraal water crisis after years of failure and finger-pointing.
Senzo Mchunu, then Minister of Water and Sanitation, and I led the City and the Department of Water and Sanitation to restore people’s trust in government.
While the City is upgrading Rooiwal waste water treatment plant to stop the pollution of the Apies River, national government is helping to deliver a more immediate solution.”
He also said Magalies Water is building a modular treatment plant on the less polluted Pienaars River, which will then become the city’s bulk supplier of potable tap water to areas currently dependent on water tankers.
The first phase of the Magalies Water package plant was meant to come online at the end of October and it is worrying that the project will be delayed.
Picture: City of Tshwane