Municipal water crisis ‘nothing to do with bulk water supply’, says minster at LHWP reopening

Water is flowing from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) again, almost eight months after the cross-border pipeline was closed.

Originally planned for a six-month maintenance shutdown, delays on the Lesotho end of the project pushed the completion date back by eight weeks.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) celebrated the end of the shutdown on Sunday, 25 May, stressing the situation was under control from the start.

LHWP delays

The LHWP channels water from three dams in the mountain kingdom into the Free State and up into the Highveld.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) oversees South Africa’s end of the agreement, which completed its planned maintenance by the original deadline at the end of March.

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina praised the TCTA and explained the nature of the delays.

“This is a project between two countries. The delays were caused by inclement weather — they couldn’t work on the site,” said the minister.

Majodina said bad weather at the beginning of April forced a three-week delay, and heavy rains later that month further pushed the completion date back.

“But we were patient with them because we received high levels of rain in the country from January to April, so we did not have any crisis,” the minister said this weekend.

No problem with bulk supply

Last year, there were fears that areas serviced by the LHWP — towns connected to the Integrated Vaal River System — may experience water shortages.

Owing to the rain, Majodina said there was more than an adequate supply to municipalities and at no stage did they need to access reserves from dams such as Sterkfontein.

Municipalities have suffered intermittent water issues, but the minister explained this was a localised issue.

“The challenges of water supply have nothing to do with bulk water supply. The water you see running down the street — it is the water that comes from the bulk water supply. We have supplied bulk,” said Majodina.

She added that the department was working with municipalities to close leaks and bursts at key infrastructure points.

“The challenge is reticulation and provision thereof, which is not our mandate as the Department of Water and Sanitation,” Majodina concluded.

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