The community of Sheepmoor in the Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, is set to get a steady supply of clean water after the completion of a bulk water supply scheme project.
Officially handed over this week by Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister, David Mahlobo; Gert Sibande District Executive Mayor, Muzi Chirwa and Msukaligwa Executive Mayor, Buti Joseph Mkhaliphi, the R22 million Sheepmoor bulk water supply scheme project will benefit 526 households in the area, and also cater for increases in the community and future developments.
The project was co-funded with R15 million from the Department of Water and Sanitation, R5 million from the Gert Sibande District Municipality and R2 million from the Msukaligwa Local Municipality.
A bulk water supply pipeline was installed to extract raw water from the Usuthu River pipeline (URPL) to Sheepmoor to meet the required demand until year 2038.
The project also includes the upgrading and refurbishing of the existing water storage facility, the pump house and the construction of a new package water treatment plant. The package plant is designed to treat both the pipeline water and/or the ground water.
Boreholes were also refurbished to maximise performance in order to be used as the main supply.
The project was done in two phases where, phase 1 was implemented through co-funding from Gert Sibande District Municipality. A new 1 Ml/day package water treatment plant was constructed in this phase.
Phase 2 included the construction of a 7.1km pipeline from the Usuthu Vaal pipeline (UVPL) to the Sheepmoor community; refurbishment of the existing 2Ml steel reservoir and 85Kl elevated tank, the refurbishment/upgrading of the existing booster pump station and pipework to connect to existing reservoirs.
During the inspection of the plant, Mahlobo advised the municipality to look at a back-up power system to ensure that the community still receives water during electricity outages.
He advised the municipality to put money aside to buy spare parts for the critical elements of the plant to ensure that it does not take long to fix the plant when there are breakdowns.
“… Ensure that the parts and the spares for equipment with a short life span are always there, and someone is trained on how to [fit] the replacement,” Mahlobo said.
In his address, Chirwa reiterated the Deputy Minister’s sentiments that “the work is not over”.
“This is the beginning and the next phase is to build a waste water treatment plant so that the community can have waterborne flushing toilets, as they now have reliable water supply,” Chirwa said.
He urged the community to use water wisely and sparingly, as South Africa is a water scarce country.
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