A tour of Makana Municipality's water infrastructure this week showed there had been progress made in repairing and upgrading key points. But lack of security remains one of the biggest threats to a reliable water supply.
A tour of Makana Municipality's water infrastructure this week showed there had been progress made in repairing and upgrading key points. But lack of security remains one of the biggest threats to a reliable water supply.
“The water outages that have been affecting Makana Municipality are close to an end,” Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter said before an information tour about Grahamstown's water supply started.
Various stakeholders and the media were invited to the Makana Water Intervention Learning Journey on Wednesday 3 September.
Hosted by Amatola Water, the tour was aimed at informing the public about the reasons behind the water outages and how the water management team plans to alleviate those problems.
Chris Nair, area operations manager of Amatola Water, said Amatola had helped Makana improve their operations and maintenance of the water. Makana Municpality had lacked qualified and experienced staff. By working with the Makana water team, he said, Amatola were passing on key water management protocols.
Director of Engineering and Infrastructural Services Thembinkosi Myalato promised sustainability and proper maintenance of the water plants.
“We’ll be working around the clock to ensure full operation of the plants,” he said. When the tour got to the pipe which burst two weeks ago, causing water outages across the city for several days, Myalato pointed to where it had been welded.
"But this is a temporary measure," he said. "We will install a new pipe that will have a lifespan of about 15 years.”
Nair confirmed that there would be constant supervision and control of the water treatment plants to ensure all risks were minimised.
Tour participants were shown water storage areas and filtration ponds which during December were filled with metres of silt. These were now cleared and ready for use. New pumps had been installed, along with the right control panels.
Hindering the considerable progress made at water storage and treatment facilities, however, was the theft of water covers and steel ladders. This would cost millions to replace, the tour leaders said. Water and sanitation manager Ntombi Tshicilela said the stolen equipment was being sold to scrap yards.
The municipality did not have funds to hire security personnel at the water stations.
