THE water challenges facing Limpopo could become a thing of the past if municipalities use their municipal water infrastructure grants (MWIG) wisely.
This emerged during a two-day workshop attended by government stakeholders in Bela Bela last Thursday and Friday.
Department of water affairs regional manager, Lucy Kobe said the department had prioritised the water-supply backlog in the province and was implementing the interim intermediate water supply strategy with the MWIG.
“Projects to be implemented under the MWIG should ensure the provision of water services in areas not covered under other funding streams.
In some areas communities have access to infrastructure but no access to water because of functionality problems .
Other residents have have access to infrastructure but no access to water because of source problems,” Kobe said.
She further said the department had supported municipalities with the development of the MWIG business plan to assist reducing water challenges.
Water still remained a big challenge in the province with people being forced to share water with domestic animals.
According to Kobe, the department, together with its sector stakeholders, planned to accelerate water services programme.
“Limpopo is currently allocated R110 million which will cover approximately 9 770 VIP toilets units, and the programme is to be completed within five years,” she said.
She added that 809 boreholes were identified and R100 million was allocated and expected to be spent by April 2014.
Kobe stressed that with the mega-water projects underway in the province, people could be relieved.
“The De Hoop Dam project in the Sekhukhune district is almost complete and the pipelines are implemented in various stages.
“We expect it to be opened on 28 March, while the Nandoni Dam project in Vhembe district is also almost complete,” she said.
The Nandoni dam is expected to supply water to other districts like Mopani and Capricorn to eradicate water challenges facing them.
Another massive development is said to be the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation project, which is expected to provide raw water to Lephalale and its surrounding areas.
