Seshego water treatment plant in month-long test phase

POLOKWANE – A considerable part of November will be spent to commission the state-of-the-art Seshego water treatment plant, to ensure smooth operations by December, when the official launch is envisioned.

This is according to the Mayor, John Mpe during a visit to the plant last Thursday, where he was accompanied by some Polokwane municipal and council officials, including the municipal manager, Thuso Nemugumoni and council whip, Adolph Rapetswa.

The project stands at 98% completion and will now undergo a test phase for a month.

Currently, the township receives two megalitres per day from a local dam and eight megalitres per day from various boreholes including a major one in the Bloodriver area, according to information provided to BONUS by the municipality.

The mayor conceded that the township’s present-day population uses roughly 16 megalitres a day, which could mean the extra four megalitres from the additional 10 in the project could be used to augment some parts of the city facing water constraints.

“The remainder can be used to supply areas such as Nirvana and Ivy Park that receive water from the Olifantspoort plant among others,” he mentioned.

Areas that receive water from Olifantspoort in the Tzaneen Local Municipality have faced severe water shortages after the city’s municipality announced the implementation of loadshedding in the area.

Several areas of the extensions located between Seshego and Westenburg receive water on specific days of the week, as was confirmed in a community meeting with area ward councillor, Gloria Mabote.

Meanwhile, Mpe announced that once this project is complete, the focus will divert to the Sandriver plant, where an additional 15-18 megalitres per day are expected.

This is among some projects in the city recently approved and financed by the Water Department, after the municipality failed to see these through due to financial constraints, exacerbated by the post-Covid-19 international economic inflation.