Mchunu responds to uThukela, uMzinyathi water supply challenges

Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has kept his promise to deliver water supply intervention projects to address water provision challenges experienced by uThukela and Umzinyathi District Municipalities.

The water supply intervention projects follows Mchunu’s visit to Mhlumayo Village in uThukela District Municipality and Kranskop town in uMzinyathi District last year, where he was informed of water supply challenges in the two areas.

Accompanied by Deputy Minister Judith Tshabalala, Mchunu revisited the two districts during a two-day Ministerial visit held on 20 – 21 November 2023 to inspect progress on water infrastructure upgrades and reveal interventions that he had promised during his last visit.

During the oversight visit, Mchunu commissioned two boreholes at Kranskop Water Treatment Woks to augment water supply at Kranskop town and the surrounding areas in uMzinyathi District Municipality. 

The Minister also held an engagement with Inkosi Sithole of Mhlumayo Village and the neighbouring chiefs, who are currently experiencing water supply shortages at their villages. 

Mhlumayo and the surrounding villages, including Oqungweni, Bhaza and Ghobo, are supplied with water by the Tugela Estates Water Treatment Plant, which has a design capacity of 1.4 million litres per day. 

The water treatment works abstracts from the Thukela River, and is supplemented by a borehole and treats water to potable standards. 
However, the treatment plant is currently operating at 0.8 million litres per day due to equipment failures and therefore, has insufficient water to meet current and growing demands. 

A production borehole was created to augment the Tugela Estates plant, and this has increased water supply to the areas by 432 kilolitres per day. 

Mchunu said the additional boreholes at Mhlumayo will believe a significant impact on meeting current shortfalls in the area supplied from the water treatment plant. 

“This will result in current water supply to approximately 4 300 people in the area at 100 l/capita/day. The Kranskop Water Treatment Plant has a design capacity of 2 Ml/d and supplies the Kranskop Town and the surrounding areas. The plant also abstracts raw water directly from boreholes and treats it to potable standards,” Mchunu said. 

Due to vandalism in the area, only two of the eight boreholes were operational, resulting in the plant operating at a low level of 0.5 million litres per day. 

This led to Mchunu’s intervention to install two current boreholes to restore supply to the affected communities.

The Kranskop water treatment plant is now able to hold 2.2 million litres of drinking water – which is adequate for the needs of Kranskop town and surrounding areas in Wards 17 and 19.

Following additional boreholes, Kranskop plant is estimated to serve 525 more consumers in Kranskop and the surrounding areas with fresh water.

Mchunu has promised more water projects that will bring more water supply in Msinga under uMzinyathi District Municipality. – SAnews.gov.za

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