Progress made on municipal projects in the Waterberg
To improve service delivery to residents of Modimolle, several projects, which have been in the pipeline for some time, need to be completed.
The mayor, Sechele Sebolai, the municipal manager, Ben Thobela and several councillors and officials did oversight visits on Monday, 24 June to see the progress for themselves.
The project to upgrade the pipeline at the Donkerpoort Water Treatment Works was handed over to the new contractor. The plant currently delivers 2,5 mega litres of water a day from the dam and the project aims to increase it to 10 mega litres by upgrading the bulk raw pipeline from the dam to the plant from a 315 mm pipe to a 600 mm steel pipe.
The inlet, flocculation channels, flow division chamber and settling tanks will also be upgraded. The municipality is moving away from the automatic system to a manual system as the automatic system was not working optimally.
The town’s water demand is around 18 mega litres, of which 6,2 – 6,9 mega litres is supplied by Magalies Water.
The project was delayed after a contractual disagreement with the previous contractor, according to Sebolai.
“This project must bring us closer to supplying water to all the houses in town, all of the time,” he said. Many residents, especially in the informal townships in Phagameng, only receive water every few days or are reliant on water trucks.
The project to upgrade the pipeline from the treatment plant to town is progressing well and is already at the Koro Creek Golf Estate, just outside of town. The project comprises the replacement of 11 km of a 315 mm pipe with a much larger 500 mm pipe.
Jay Naidoo sewer line
The next stop was at the Jay Naidoo sewer line in Ext. 6 and 7 in Phagameng. The line has been a stinky issue for residents for many years. According to the contractor, the project will be completed by the end of July.
The cause of the frequent sewer overflows was, according to the contractor, a pipeline that was not big enough. It is being upgraded from a 160 mm pipe to a 355 mm pipe. The slopes for the sewer connection from houses were not steep enough, which contributed to the problem. These pipes have been upgraded from 110 mm to 355 mm pipes. The pipeline runs through 24 manholes from Molalathladi Street to Jay Naidoo Street.
Two taps for hundreds of people
A third stop was made in Barathon in Ext 9 of Phagameng where two communal taps supply water to more than a hundred households.
These taps only have water every second or third day. Access to this informal neighbourhood is difficult as the roads are narrow and sandy.
According to Sebolai, people have been living in Barathon for more than twenty years and the town planning department must take steps to formalise the area so that proper services can be supplied.
Sewage plant
A last stop was made at the sewage works. The plant should be able to process 6,5 mega litres of sewage but currently only process 1,6 mega litres, according to Municipal Manager Ben Thobela. A fault in the sewage line from the industrial issue needs to be solved. The screw pump was replaced by submersible pumps, as the water flow corroded the concrete.
This issue, Thobela said, needs to be addressed urgently. He stressed the importance of the right people being appointed, as, in this case, a millwright would be better equipped to solve the problems than a plumber.
The rest of the sewage works are fully operational. Thabang Selemela, manager of the municipality’s water services, explained the process to councillors.
“The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry awarded our licence on strict conditions to preserve the RAMSAR site, Nylsvley, which lies only a few kilometres downstream. The usual requirement for phosphates is 10 mg per litre, but ours need to be 1mg per litre,” he said.
