By Frances Ringwood

It has been a couple of weeks since the recent launch of the Giyani Water Treatment Works (GWTW) in Limpopo, as part of the Presidential “Siyahlola” Campaign.

The GWTW plant was launched by President Jacob Zuma with the minister of Water and Sanitation (DWS) Nomvula Mokonyane. Also present at the event was the South African minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi and a coterie of Limpopo Province MECs.

The launch was supposed to have heralded the beginning of a better quality of life for 55 villages, bringing them closer to water sources without inhabitants having to walk long distances to draw water. Of the 55 villages, 27 villages are serviced by bulk water distribution while the remaining 28 get water through boreholes.

The intention was to phase out the boreholes and have a complete bulk water distribution to the entire 55 villages.

While the project will eventually benefit grateful villagers, in the last few days it has become evident that the existing reticulation network – comprising pipes, valves and reservoirs – is not up to the task of coping with newly installed infrastructure.

According to a statement by the DWS, “The network is completely dilapidated, having outlived its originally specified lifespan of 30 years by 10 years more – making it 40 years old, having been installed in 1974. This has left the system barely functional, requiring constant repairs. Frequent maintenance is continuing to cause interruptions in the supply of water to the people of Giyani.”

This aged infrastructure is in a state of ruin and has been prone to leaks where corroded pipes burst. For a leaking pipe to be fixed, water supply has to be turned off, meaning that residents would either have to be without water while the repairs are done, or obtain water from other sources.

“Illegal connections and vandalism of the water infrastructure also contribute considerably to water interruptions. Seven pipes were recently vandalised,” the DWS added in its statement.

Vandalism increases the risk of disruptions of service and, according to government, “make continuous supply of water impossible, sometimes for 24hrs at a time in some areas.”

Action
To surmount these challenges the DWS has deployed a team of technical staff to operate the plant, including walking the pipe network in order to detect leaks and vandalism.

In some areas, the Department has had to replace the entire pipe network some of which uses old asbestos-lined concrete.

In addition, a police investigation has been launched against the perceived threat of vandalism. The DWS plans to launch a campaign against vandalism and theft of water infrastructure to tackle the problem in the new year.