In a statement issued on Monday, the Defence Department’s head of communications Siphiwe Dlamini said: “Various SA Army Engineer units and regiments under the stewardship of the SA Army Engineer Formation Headquarters commanded by Colonel Andries Mahapa contributed members and equipment to attain the Vaal River Project objectives as set out by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans in the beginning of the project. Over five hundred members from the SANDF regular and reserve units took part in this project on a rotational basis providing range of engineering skills.”
The project got under way on October 31, 2018. It was meant to be completed on October 31, 2019, but was later extended to January 31, 2020
According to the statement an assessment by the Intervention Team in October 2018 indicated that in order for the treatment plan to be fully operational, the SANDF engineers were required to desludge and clear the Primary Settling Tank in the settlement chamber and humus tanks, repair a desludging pipe in the settlement chamber, unblock sewer lines and manholes, paint a rotational bridge that is linked to the primary settling tank, and to unblock community houses where sewage was coming from, and lastly, maintain and or reinforce a security wall around a treatment plan.
“The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans would like to extend her gratitude to all SANDF members who were deployed and contributed their selfless services in the attainment of objectives of this project. During the term of deployment, the SANDF managed to unblock a sewage system that was clogged up resulting to spillage, and to date, a total of seven pump stations are now operational with another 24 pump stations functioning but still requiring some attention,” the statement said.
Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu visited the site on Tuesday last week.
