Rooiwal ‘on track’ to deliver to Hammanskraal by deadline

“Significant progress” has been made at the Rooiwal waste water treatment plant, according to Tshwane deputy mayor Nasiphi Moya, after a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal last year put the quality of water in the area under the spotlight.

“There has been progress in securing the site with security personnel, with the future aim of installing camera surveillance. Other areas of improvement include equipment management and reinstallation, which have all been dealt with according to plan,” she said.

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Moya said the completion of pumping sewage effluent and desludging was also on track for phase 1 of the refurbishment to be completed by April 2025.

“This means the removal of scrapper-down pipes and refurbishments will start this month.”

Moya visited the plant, along with the city’s Rooiwal subcommittee’s Hannes Coetzee and Themba Fosi.

“Once the system runs steadily, we should be able to monitor the safety and quality of the water and its chemical distributions.

“Our visit to Rooiwal also finalised the steps to ensure that Hammanskraal residents have access to clean water by September next year.

“This deadline is still within our reach with the completion of the water meter readings project,” she said.

Hammanskraal farmer Theunis Vogel said something was finally happening to address the water challenges in the area.

“But there is no improvement yet. All 10 belt presses are out of order and 80% of sludge still runs into the Apies River.”

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Vogel, one of the residents who had been complaining about the quality of the water for over 20 years, said the controllers were erecting fences around Rooiwal and some of the work to clean dams has started.

“I hope something positive comes from this,” he said. Nonprofit WaterCAN’s Dr Ferrial Adam said the water quality in Hammanskraal was a real concern, adding the focus on Rooiwal was positive.

“We want Tshwane to share the water quality results monthly and it should be publicly available,” she said.

Professor Anja du Plessis, associate professor at the department of geography at Unisa, said the progress made with the refurbishment of Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant is encouraging.

“It is hoped that the team will deliver according to the set timelines, as it is long overdue. We, however, need to monitor the project to ensure that the commitments are met and that the community of Hammanskraal finally receive a clean and reliable water supply,” Du Plessis said.