Tshwane metro and SAHRC visits Hammanskraal water treatment plant

Tshwane metro has taken the South African Humans Rights Commission (SAHRC) through the solutions deployed to assist residents of Hammanskraal to resolve the water quality issues.

Mayor Randall Williams and the SAHRC were visiting the Temba water purification plant and Rooiwal water treatment plant on Thursday.

Williams said the challenges in Hammanskraal were first identified in 2004, when reports were presented to the then-administration, highlighting that the waste water infrastructure was deteriorating and would not be able to sustain the population growth.

ALSO READ: Despite repair work, Temba water still not consumable yet

“Unfortunately, these reports were ignored, the population more than doubled and no interventions were put in place for over a decade,” he said.

“The infrastructure significantly degraded such that by 2015, the water in parts of Hammanskraal was undrinkable.

“It was Solly Msimanga who first identified these issues and upon his election in 2016, prioritised the area,” said Williams.

“It then became apparent that repairs and maintenance would not be sufficient.

“What was required was a full-scale refurbishment of the Rooiwal waste water treatment plant.”

Williams said R300-million has been allocated to upgrade the plant – the metro’s biggest budget allocation.

He said phase 1 of this work was currently underway and standing at 58% completion with finalisation expected in October 2022.

“However, as this work takes place, we must keep the plant running which is challenging. I made it clear to the SAHRC that there are parts of Hammanskraal where the water is not potable.

“While water is being supplied and can be used for washing and watering, it must not be used for cooking or drinking.

“We have water tankers in place to support these residents. Residents have every right to be angry and frustrated by this situation. It is unacceptable,” Williams said.

“The upgrades we are doing to this infrastructure should have been done well over a decade ago, but they were not. I want to make it very clear that we are fully committed to ensuring that we upgrade this infrastructure and deliver quality water to our residents.”

[WATCH] Myself and MMC for Utilities Cllr Phillip Nel had a productive session with SAHRC on solutions being deployed to assist Hammanskraal residents. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/aWgAHUjYVT

— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) September 2, 2021

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