POLOKWANE – Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) is currently embarking on curbing water scarcity problems in the city. According to LNW’s CEO, Phineas Legodi, the project for bulk water supply infrastructure will only meet the needs of Polokwane’s population till 2036 but he says ‘Project Upgrade Olifantspoort and Ebenezer Water Schemes’ will ensure that water rectification and sanitation glitches will be the thing of the past.
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However, under the leadership of Legodi, the project as well as ministerial interventions for various water projects in the city implemented by LNW, will only happen over the next four years. “The entire cost of the project will only be confirmed after meetings with all necessary parties involved between LNW and Polokwane Municipalities,” he said.
The Polokwane Municipality contracted LNW as a water board to supply bulk water from Ebenezer and Olifantspoort Schemes.
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“Water supply had been going well until challenges experienced at both schemes contributed negatively to sustainable supply. Plans are at an advance stage to prepare reconstruction of both Ebenezer and Olifantspoort Schemes to meet the demand, as the demand is more than the supply, particularly during warm seasons,” Legodi added.
Of late, supply challenges from Ebenezer Scheme have mostly been caused by electrical power failures due to power dips caused by an unsustainable line from the Greater Tzaneen Municipality and this often happens while the supply from Olifantspoort Scheme is negatively affected.
Supply from the Olifantspoort Scheme has been affected by frequent breakdowns of the Specon Pipe and Legodi says the pipe has lived beyond its lifespan, hence the breakdowns. This, in turn, affects the flow of water to areas in and around the city, resulting in reservoirs not being able to be kept within the demand.
“The Specon pipeline is bursting at an average of twice a week, causing a downtime of at least six hours for each burst. Due to time taken without being able to supply water, once the line is repaired and the plant back in operation, it takes more time to balance the supply. At least 5km’s of this line requires attention and a project to implement the repairs has started at 2km and work on the 3km point will follow in due course,” Legodi explained.
He added that while the Polokwane Municipality and Lepelle Northern Water are taking all possible measures to recover from the current situation, avoiding intensive water shortages cannot be achieved by the municipality alone and requires a collective effort by all residents.
“If we don’t pull together now and drive down water usage even further, we face the risk of disrupting the daily lives of our households and businesses for a long time. In order to avoid disruptions, everyone in the city, including outer areas, will have to endure some discomfort and inconvenience, but this will be better than the alternative, which is extensive disruption at a later point,” he concluded.
